Thursday, June 28, 2007

Will Ephrem Isaac please speak up?

(By all EZ Post contributors)

The Ethiopian conception of Shimgelenais very pragmatic. It has less to do with justice and truth than crafting the conditions for coexistence. Thus, we say that Shimagles have a right(and even an obligation) to lie, hide the truth, and sometimes push one or the other party to accept deals which may be objectively unjust(based on a careful analysis of reality and balance of powers), to bring about reconciliation. That was why, all contributors to EZ Post, had no strong words against Professor Ephrem Isaac, the Chief Shimagele, during the process of the negotiation between CUD leaders and Meles, even though we firmly believed the prisoners were at times under intense pressure to accept unjust terms in the deal.

But Shimageles aren't absolute Machiavellianamoralists. Their willingness to be less truthful and unjust has limits. Today was the second time MelesZenawi backed down from a deal he agreed to in the past three months. He kept on changing his terms whenever he felt like it. He added more onerous conditions for the prisoners to accept after agreements had been made, sometimes embarrassing the Shimageles themselves. We think that even for a staunchly Ethiopian Shimagele like Epherem Isaac, Meles' acts should be beyond the borders of what is acceptable in a Shimgelena process. We believe this is the time for the great Professor to speak up against MelesZenawi's blatant disregard of our long standing institution of Shimgelena, and his capacity to boundless immorality.

77 comments:

Anonymous
said...

he might be ashemed to be used by this crule laier called meles. from the bigning i have never blieve that they will be realesed throug midition becouse i think meles don't blieve in that. the only way out for our leadres and for all of us is to rise up, rise up FULL TIME .

We want to hear something from Prof. Ephrem. It is time to say something !!! For how long he keep scilent ??? However, Prof. Ephrem is a respected (and innocent operson which did not know the evil nature of WEYNANE), he sould not be in a way to miss his credit. I think, unless he say something he will spoil his good name.

We want to hear something from Prof. Ephrem. It is time to say something!!! For how long he keeps silent??? However, Prof. Ephrem is a respected guy, but he is also innocent person, which did not know the evil nature of WEYNANE. He should not be in a way to miss his credit. I think, unless he says something he will spoil his good name.

Patience! People, patience. The professor had asked restraint from all parties (specifically no rumors) while these negotiations are underway. My guess is and this is just my uninformed guess Meles might spin this in such a way that the court will pardon them or let them go. And meles can say justice was served without him interfering. I know this is just one of many ways they can spin this. We have yelled and screamed for two years let them work on this without interference. I beg patience from you all.

Yes, patience is good. But until when? I only wish that the respected shimagles come to the open and give the people some kind of assurance about what is going on. This may help to reduce the amount of rumors going on all directions. People need information. Information blackout is a breeding board of lies and rumors. Not every detail need be known by everybody, but some sort of direction can help both sides.

Until such a time comes, let me what I think. The court has already ruled that the defendants have committed the ‘crime’. So, I don’t think that there will be no complete pardon from the court. It will rule some years of imprisonment. Then, as a part of the so called ‘millennium’ drama a few weeks later the president Girma woldeyes will include the names of our heroes among a long list, probably 300 to 500 other ‘criminal’ to be pardoned, which might, just might include those people of the mecha tuluma assn and a few other known figure. This way meles will try to show that the CUD leaders are no political prisoners, but peoples who commit crime.

I KNOW MY A VERY BAD AND WILD ONE. MY SRTONGEST WISH IS TO SEE THE PATRIOTIC LEADERS GO FREE, AS THEY ARE, ANY MINUTE. I KNOW TRUTH WILL PREVAIL IN THE END. MAY GOD HELP US.

Yes, patience is good. But until when? I only wish that the respected shimagles come to the open and give the people some kind of assurance about what is going on. This may help to reduce the amount of rumors going on all directions. People need information. Information blackout is a breeding board of lies and rumors. Not every detail need be known by everybody, but some sort of direction can help both sides.

Until such a time comes, let me say what I think. The court has already ruled that the defendants have committed the ‘crime’. So, I don’t think that there will be no complete pardon from the court. It will rule some years of imprisonment. Then, as a part of the so called ‘millennium’ drama a few weeks later the president Girma woldeyes will include the names of our heroes among a long list, probably 300 to 500 other ‘criminal’ to be pardoned, which might, just might include those people of the mecha tuluma assn and a few other known figure. This way meles will try to show that the CUD leaders are no political prisoners, but peoples who commit crime.

I KNOW MY IDEA IS A VERY BAD AND WILD ONE. MY SRTONGEST WISH IS TO SEE THE PATRIOTIC LEADERS GO FREE, AS THEY ARE, ANY MINUTE. I KNOW TRUTH WILL PREVAIL IN THE END. MAY GOD HELP US.

The serial liar whose rule is by brite force , bribery , deceit , torture , extermination, has managed once again to cheat US congress by requesting the postponment of the mark up of HR2003 , only to turn aroud and say , "there is no negotiation with cud leaders"

thanks EZrahelDont buy the idea that says The court will sentence the leaders and then in the millenium drama Zenawi will release them.

It is the usual fire fighting tactics of woyanne.In my understandingTHIS APPARENT MEDIATION AND THE CONSEQUENT SPINNING OF THE NEWS of RELEASE IS TO YIELD THE GROWING SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE.Let us not wait a dove from the egg of the serpents.Meles is doomed to fail.He has to be finished this time around.So my peopleBe ready for the final whistle.

dear EZ,why we are hopeing so much from a liar-king. i think he (meles) needsa proff. help to be healed from his ethiophobia sickness.pls be adviced ethiopians, we arethe only and best solution for our problems yesterday,today and tomorrow. only we can change our future profoundly, when we are active and involved in every aspects. don't trust any foreigners diplomacy,sanctions andeven support to heel our centurylong chronical healness.best regards.

Therefore what he does is a function what he is. He will do many more such things in the coming years unless somebody does us a favor and deposit a piece of lead between his ugly eyes to help him in his thinking process.

Thanks very much.

p.s. Ethio-Zagol, I know you are a smart individual/s but your comment "they won't be released until after sentencing", I find that to be a little too childish. By now, everybody would expect you would know the true nature of the crimeMinister.

The guy become like Mugabe. Typical African leader mentality. Don't expect much from him. If one grow up in hate for certain parts of the community, it sticks to his head and doesn't want to make any changes to his knowledge even if he knows the truth is totally different to what he seems to know as a child. Hate. Hate. Hate..that is what he is accustomed with...

1) Always look at the biggest picture. Zenawi is trapped in his own trick and let him die a slow and shameful death. There was a negotiation the last couple of weeks. He wants them to admit the fabricated guilt and relieve him responsibility for his crime. They told him NO. They did the right thing. If they admitted the fabricated guilt and signed the paper just to be released- he will scream to the whole world that "hey what do you want me to do? they have admitted guilt" - and he might even order them killed.

2) Don't give a life support for a murderer. Even his inquiry commission found him guilty. Just continue the sturggle intensively. If we do that then he will undoubtedly be removed and if God helps can be captured before he left the country.

Meles will always be Meles. He may think he will outsmart, lie and and all of the time. But we wont let him do that. Time is definetly working against him.The truly sad thing here is, Kinjit Supporters out side the country have fallen victims of Woyane infiltration at a critical time such as now..when their input would have helped the most. Their in fighting and 'meghleCHas'just amaze me. How sad!

Fisrt it was Professor Donald LEvin who was trying to twist arms of Kinijit leaders. When he failed because of his unwaverred love to Meles Zenawi and Woyane he lost face with the Kinijit leaders and he was told unequivocally to stay away. Now it is the turn of the other Professor Ephrem Yishaq. He will also be told to stay away.

The main objective of both Professors is to undermine the fruits of the struggle of the people of Ethiopia.

You respected professors: Keep your hands off from Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Your "shimgilina" is uncalled for.

Anyone associated with the coersion is part of this new criminal enterprise orchestrated by Meles and co. He is using Dr. Ephrem Isaac as his horse to get to the leaders' soft spot. The leaders trusting his lead and exposed their vulnerability. Meles will use this litmus test and take advantage of their weakness and the desire to end the stand off even at the expense of their admission of partial guilt. Now Meles will have them sentenced and then he will have even bigger upper hand over them. He will ask them to relinquish their rights to participate in Ethiopian politics. Knowing their weakness already he will flaunt his power on their face, and he will ask them to take full responsibility for every dead innocent Ethiopian. If they say no they will serve their time, if they say yes then they will only get away with their lives and bannish from the country they love.

You are more sensible this time around, I must admit. As good Ethiopian emotion gets the best of you (and us all).

When do we learn to hold on things and seek it to the end. It is not Meles or the mediation that is at play. It is international power balance.

We were supposed to be very careful about what we say and do at this very moment since the life of some sincere Ethiopians is at stake.

My dear PATRIOT, you have a good point in saying that their partial acceptance of responsibility might be exploited and used to justify the sentencing by the cour this July. However, what do we loose by giving peace a chance and expose the brutalty of the system on innocent Ethiopians. The life of the innocent is already at stake. Let the system bring out its ugly face.

We pray that the mediation would bring some positive results.

Whether Ethiopia is stretching out her hands in humble submission to God or if Ethiopia is crushed of her pride and surrendered to God's army does not make a difference to me now. But let it be to God that we submit and nothing less. I mean, let the international power and influence know for fact that Ethiopia is submitting to her divine Ruler and not to earthly self appointed RULERS.

I say let the man do his job. The Professor has done more than all these so-called leaders of Kinijit combined. Petty fools scratching each other's face like little girls at a Pizza party. These folks wanted to lead Ethiopia? Save us from such tragedy lord. What a shame. As to the leaders in Kaliti, they have conviction and a sense of purpose. They just went about it the wrong way. For that, they don't deserve the punishment they could get. They have already been punished enough. I would say a compromise with the leaders after being found guilty is what would probably happen. The process must come to a conclusion according to what the law says in Ethiopia. Then, the PM can use some procedure to pardon them. That is the best outcome for Ethiopia. But, it is the worst outcome for the diapora-hate-mongerer. They won't have the plight of the jailed leaders to scream about. I gotta wonder what the next "Wey Gude" will be.

The EPRDF has outfoxed each and every one of you. The sooner you admit than the closer you will come to you goal--whatever that maybe. I really don't know because you are short on goals and big on accusations or hateful diatribe.

It is very sad to hear Melese's denail of the Shimgelina, but not unexpected. Probaby, Meles is looking for a loop-hole to incriminate them. He always does everything to buy time and hunt down his "enemies". He has been doing this so many times and it worked out for him well. There is a good lesson to be learned from this :- Good personality and good intentions dosen't work in politics. If there is any guilt the CUD leaders made would be being honest to their country and to the people. They go extra miles in order to have progress in the country's political process. Honesty is some thing unthikeable for die hard politicians like Meles. If you trace things back in the last couple of years, Meles has been using his shrewd mind to exploit the CUD leader's honesty. I hope this time my guess will be wrong.Meles is using his time effectively to spread rumors and false informations through his cadres and diaspora stuges like reporter, aigaforum ethiopiafirst... Because they pretend to be neutral and independent.I hope things will work out for the country's best.

Hagos: you LiFatcham Mosquito even your kind is leading my country let alone our CUDP (Real-Ethiopians) elected by the people. Your blood filled bellies are going to be punctured soon, bunch of viruses! We will get our country back from you sooner or later, when we do; I pray that I am not there to get my hands on a Tegerea. I know that the Real-Ethiopians are going to give you people the mob justice on he streets, like it has never been witnessed in Ethiopian history. You think you can get away from justice? You will see we will catch up with you regardless of where you go.

I just listned what Meles had to say during his speech in the parliament. It doesn't sound so bad! Although he is often unpredictable, he was very careful talking about the issue with regard to the mediation. I feel , politically speaking, he can not say more than that although we know that it is he who makes every little decision. Hope to see the Kinijit leaders soon!

I do not think that Professor Ephrem Isaac would come out and speak the truth. As far as I know him, he does not have such a courage. He has so far been working as Melese's messanger and not as "shimgile".

They will be relased because the sudden termination of the court for guilty verdict is a clue that they will berelased. Meles has been consistently saying the court is free and fair, which never was (is). For example when he arrested the elected officers he has to revoke their MP status in the rubber stamped parliment. But he waited to do that.

I couldn't agree more with last visitor who posted at 7:08 am. If the CM/PM didn't want to use the man as one directional messenger to Qaliti, he would have thrown him (The prof.) out of the country long time ago. So no matter how much the Shemagile try hard, the hostage drama in Qaliti, will continue in Addis unless / until, may be, the CM wants it finished, hence I consider the Shemagele as part of the CM dirty game not a true broker as we expect to be. I would die to hear the Prof. one day telling his story of the humiliation he faced begging the CM for as a little concession as getting an audience with him.

The CM blew big time when his prosecutor with out even following the formal criminal procedure abruptly fast warded to end and find the prisoners guilty of crime. That was the day the CM lost completely the moral battle in this saga. This case should go in the text book of every civic lesson in school of Africa to show how tyrannical regime use the judiciary solely for their own good, i.e staying in power, contrary to the principle of one of the corner stone of basic tenant of a democratic system of governance.

I am proud of the true leaders of Ethiopia in Kaltiti for standing their own, against all odds, denying the CM face- saving outcome.

May be I should start a rumour about Meles Zenawi stepping down from power on the eve of the mellenium!!!!Zagol, This is not a child play. Just because you are lucky enough to use a blog does not entitled you to boss around anyone. It is too sad that you and I can not contribute positvly to our society.Let the professor do his thing.Weygud

Dear all, A 5 years old boy will find it hard to rule a country in the right track. Meles is an old man with less brain comparable with a 5 years old boy. He is not a state man!! Shimiglena works only when both contestants have respect for the shimaglies. Do you believe that Meles has repsect for any one except his masters in the state??Look, he thinks that he can even take hostage of the us officials. Is it really normal thinking??? The wrong man at the right place at the wrong time!!

Dear EZ netters,There is only one and only one way to free our beloved country from the Jaws of Tigray shiftas. It is to intensify the struggle on every possible way. Let's not waste too much time on tecknical procedures. Let us raise up our rusty arms, be it knife, Tor, dula or the modern ones. Let us face death until we liberate ourselves from inhuman treatment by the minority parasitic shiftas. The only lesson they may understand is turning the gunback to their forehead. They grow up in bushes like wild animals and can not learn the human way of living in dignity. We shall send them back to where they came from if we are united as 'Ethiopians'. The rest is joke. The heroic leaders have put themselves on an experiment, so called "Peaceful Method". You can do that in a free society on equal terms. Freedom comes first, the rest follows. Let us put together all our resources be it human, finnance, logistics or diplomatic as Ethiopian. Then only can our enemies be eradicated and we can build our country to a peaceful, democratic and strong nation.Andarge.

PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE,,,YALTENEKA GILGIL YAWKAL. SINTEWAWEK ANTENANEK,YALTEKEFETE AF ZIMB AIGEBABTIM.Let me advice you one thing, we are fed up of hodams and opportunists, like you.What ever the final out come of the so called 'Shimgilina' Our struggle for democracy & unity will continue. The release of few political prisoners may be the beginning but not the end of the fight for the liberation.Wake up man, in the free Ethiopia even you will have your place without selling your conscious for firifari. Andarge

Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

...let me leave this for your own thoughts, but I am growing to admire Melese by the day despite the fact that the so called political scientists, lawyers, PhDs in different professions are against him yet meles comes out winner with no fail at all times. He gets his own way starting from the inception of TPLF. Atleast we can say that he has survived all degrees of hate, conspiracy.... I simily wonder what this guy could have achieved if all these forces were behind him. hmmm he has been labeled anti Ethiopian, yet he governs all of Ethiopia single handedly. Who in this world has governed a foriegn country in the 21st century? Atleast we have witnessed major coup in the almighty Derge but none during his time. what a paradox? is he a Super human or are those against him midgets or cowards....

Your personal cult towards Meles outsmarts your reasoning. Meles is nothing but one of the new generation of butchers living for the day by eating up his opponents. How many coup has he survived? He is made up of coups himself, down from day 1 at tplf todate. He eats any one if he fills threatened. He is a Dumbo Jumbo king with under age mentality.

Can't we have acivilized discussions with out insulting individuals or groups? What does it take to respect ones view and political orientation with out resorting to insults. Is this what you call democracy. From what I know, democracy is having helathy discussions, respecting others view and orientation, understanding and accepting those that hold different views than you or me are not our enemies without namecalling and insults.

Derg has survived various coups. That does not mean he has survived all. The same with Meles. Economic improvement of a country (If any) does not justify Political cruelty. Meles and his cronies will not survive and be remembered as political disasters. The man has full of hatred and anger against his opponents and this will drive him tobe what he is now.The genocide case against the opposition should have been ‘People of Ethiopia against Meles’. 70% of the Ethiopians support the opposition parties, as one respected institution Disclosed recently.

Let us call a spade a spade. We all know that there is a group of AMARAS who will NEVER accept anyone else but an AMARA to lead Ethiopia. I got BAD news for all of you. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER SO DEAL WITH IT.

PM Zenawi is the most articulate and well seasoned leader Ethiopia has seen in 200 years. But you can't see that because you are Stuck on AMARA.

He outwits your caveman mentality day in and day out. Your caveman days are over, please civilize yourselves by accepting the new century.

Hagos is nothing but a Shabia, pretending to be a Tigrian. You know if the choice of name to reflect "hagos Wusha" is a dead give away of a Shabia mentality. Anyone who oppose Meles is not Amara. Don't fall for Shabia trap!

There were dictators before, there are a few now like Meles and there will be some more in the future. Hitler was one dictator who believed he can outsmart everyone. To get there he murdered millions and caused directly or indirectly another millions to unspeakable horror, brought the world to the brink of disaster and finally he and his ardent followers ended up in a pile of burnt ashes or the hangman’s noose. History will tell you none of these dictators managed to capture the best hopes of their people and lead them into prosperity and democracy. Unfortunately all they managed to do was clutch to power by terrorizing their own people, waste valuable resources including life and time and then end up in the dust bin of history and Meles's fate will be no different. Meles’s temporary stay in power should not intoxicate you as it is attained only thru the barrel of a gun, and not love or admiration from the people. Be aware race does not have anything to do with this as Tigreans in Addis overwhelmingly voted for CUD and there are Tigreans in Tigre who hate Meles to the core. Instead think of the 70+ millions of your people suffering day in day out as result of stupid decisions made by Meles and our previous other worthless leaders. It is not an Amhara, an Oromo, a Tigre, a Gurage or anyone from the many ethnic groups being at the helm, but it is the undying hope of most of us that one among her children' someday soon will rise up from the bottom to capture our hope, our aspiration and our dream and lead us to a prosperous and free Ethiopia.

It may not be in my lifetime, but Ethiopia thru her children will manage to wake up from the hundreds of years of slumber, once and for all remove from power the likes of Meles, and Mengistu who are nothing but foul mouthed, toxic filled murderers and instead put in place the foundation that creates good leaders that will lead us into a free and prosperous country.

Derg had had several attempt on his life and his government had experienced several coup-detat. The reason was that dispite people's belief that there were several Real-Ethiopians around Derg. Today what we have around Meles is opportunist Tegeres who are one ethnic controlling Ethiopia thru Ethno-Centric chain of command. Unless you are Tegerea they will not give you the position. If you are Tegerea you have a certain degree of benefits that you will protect the system no matter what crimes the system commits. You will end up seeing slowly switching the Tegereas by other Ethnic as time goes by in order to make us believe that there were other ethnic that participated in RAPING, LOOTING, and PILLAGING Mother-Ethiopia.

Meles never had a coup-detat or anything resembling, the last thing Ethiopians witnessed was removing the regime by ballots and that turned into rampage violence by Meles and his TEGEREA AGAZI SECURITY FORCE or called Tegereas Vanguard militants. They saved hsi ass at the expense of our youths blood and our leaders incarcerations.

This is a time of great pain and suffering for most Ethiopians and in particular for the unnecessarily convicted Leaders of CUD (the Opposition) and journalists,[i] for the members of their families, and for the Members and supporters of Kinijit. This article is brief, but long on goals: I am considering both humanitarian and political (legal) dimensions of the controversy. It would have made my task of writing much easier had we a transparent judicial system in Ethiopia, where members of the public have easy access to the briefs, evidence presented, and the decision of the courts. For almost a week, I tried to get copies of the decision, crucial briefs, evidentiary support et cetera without success except for snippets of items that may be indicative but not illuminating on several issues. For example, I read in some Websites that the detainees were trying to file their defense, when disruptively a judgment was entered against them, which to me would be gross violation of their human rights, but I was unable to find corroborating evidence to that claim; rather what I found was a twisted version of hearsay than such authenticated claims.[ii]

I read in several Websites a number of articles and chat statements full of raw anger, at times expressed in vile language, against the government of Meles Zenawi’s detention and conviction of the leasers of the Opposition. Of course, the Kinijit Organization or its support groups are not responsible for the statements made by every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the recent conviction of some of the Leaders of Kinijit and the political controversy facing the nation in general. Such approach of writing in large brush strokes when precision is really necessary simply would mud the issues and end up confusing people rather than promoting our knowledge and clarity of goals. For example, the Press Release of the Official Kinijit organization is rather very brief more inclined to rhetorical argumentation than simple straight statements. It would have been helpful if the Organization had summarized the case and pointed out the charges clearly, and rendered both legal and political criticisms on the decision. If possible, the Organization should have attached the exact wordings of the decision if not all of the decision.

On November 6, 2005, I wrote an article that was posted in this Website, “In Perspective: the Politics of Opposition,” condemning the arrest of Opposition Leaders. In that article, I stated clearly the type of arrest, and the time of the arrest, and the circumstances of the arrest was highly polarizing and counter productive and a violation of the fundamental rights of those arrested. It is of great concern to me then and now with the judgment of late adding to my anxiety and worry about the health situation of those incarcerated, that I want to restate my concern by quoting my self as follows.

It is a duty that every Ethiopian should be bound by to protect the rights of those with whom we may disagree. If I do not speak out against all forms of dictatorships and allow the murder, detention, and torture of my brothers and sisters, then who would speak out on my behalf when I fell prey to a dictator? May I remind my esteem critiques in the words of a man who survived Nazi prison camps and atrocities as follows? ‘First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.’[iii]

The person I quoted in that article was Martin Niemoller,[iv] a victim of Nazi Germany.

I have condemned the arrest and detention (and now conviction) of CUD Leaders from the very beginning. I have done so not because I supported the political program of CUD or the incarcerated Leaders’ possible capacity to lead Ethiopia (taking into account their background as a group), but because I considered the action of the Government in arresting them at that point as a violation of their fundamental and political rights. If what the government has alleged for the arrest was true, and if there is no immediate insurrection and breakdown of civil society, there was no reason that investigation of wrong doing of criminal activities would not have been done without arresting and detaining those leaders in Kaliti or elsewhere. I am a believer that a government is a lot stronger than individuals or groups, and should allow some leeway to citizens even in time of civil disturbances.

Because of my humanitarian concern, I insist that the incarcerated opposition leaders, journalists et cetera must be immediately released without any precondition, and the convictions of the detainees should also be expunged or vacated. I have no access to evaluate the evidence presented in court against the detainees and some of them now convicted, but that should not matter at all for my insistence for their freedom is not based on legalism, but on humanitarian consideration. Most of the Leaders are senior citizens; some of them in their seventies and a number of them in their mid sixties. Of course, the economist Dr. Berhanu and Judge Birtukan, the only female Opposition leader, are very young. In principle, the Ethiopian government has all the power, money, and tools to investigate any subversive activities by anybody. However, the political environment created by the Government of Meles Zenawi has contributed to all forms of dissentions, thus the Government itself is partially responsible for the creation of the chaotic political processes in Ethiopia. Arrest, intimidation, illegal detention, and murder are not the answers for the ongoing crises in Ethiopia.

II. Individual Rights and the Judiciary

In 1974-75, just after the Derg announced the removal of Emperor Haile Selassie I and installed itself as the head of state and government, twenty plus representatives of different Departments in the Ministry of Finance (including me) formed a committee and called the employees of the Ministry to stop work in protest against the establishment of the military dictatorship. I was the Chairman of that Committee. Ours was the first direct organized challenge to the Derg. Fifteen of us were arrested and detained first at Menilik Palace, then moved into the Central Prison of Addis Ababa (qetero), and ended up finally at Alembekagn. In 1975, we were charged with similar charges of “subversive” activities as were the Leaders of the Opposition in 2006. [I am not comparing our local politically minor Committee of dissenters to the detained National Opposition Leaders.]

After seven or eight months in detention, we were finally charged with a whole series of crimes including the serious charge of attempt to overthrow the Transitional Government and other subversive activities. When we were served with our charges, we had a dilemma whether to defend ourselves or reject the authority of the Court, which was in our case a Military Court. We debated whether our cause would be better served with our active participation in our defense. We figured out that it was much more important to use the Military Court process itself that was illegally imposed on us (civilians) for our own purpose in order to expound our opposition to the Military dictatorship rather than leave it to the Military Court to define us and decide without our input our fate. We knew to a moral certainty that we would be convicted, but we wanted our cause to be publicized so that what ever happened to us, the Ethiopian people would know why we acted the way we did mobilizing Ethiopian Government Employees to stop work as a protest against the Military dictatorship at that early stage.

Our great lawyer who mounted a spirited defense on our behalf against the accusations of the Derg Prosecutor in a Derg Military Court was none other than Prof. Yacob Hailemariam, who is now, thirty years later, convicted by the Government of Meles Zenawi for exercising his civil and human rights. Yacob Hailemariam, as a fine defense lawyer, presented our defense not just as mere defense but as an event bearing on history at great risk to his own personal safety. He went to the extent of summoning Major Sisy, one of the leading members of the Executive Committee of the Derg, as witness for questioning. His summation could be ranked as one of the best in similar political trials around the world. All of the hearing was reported including summation statements in Addis Zemen daily newspaper and reported also on Television. Even though we soon were forgotten, due to monumental events taking place in the country where by 1977 with the Red Terror political murder, mayhem, torture, detention having become common place, the fact of the virtue of mounting a vigorous defense is real.

I believe that the opposition Leaders who are now convicted of very serious crimes made strategically speaking very serious error by not mounting a vigorous defense. They should have shown to the people of Ethiopia and to the world at large the many problems and disasters caused by the government of Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia in the process of their defense. There can be no better forum than Meles’s own court to show to the Ethiopian people and the world the harm Ethiopians suffered for the last fifteen years under the administration of Meles Zenawi. There are several examples in history where great men accused of crimes under unjust laws and often under illegal governments, have mounted great defenses—Gandhi, Mandela, King to name a few. Even though such great men suffered the ignominy and humiliation of being dragged in front of corrupt judges or a mob in frenzy they held their ground with dignity and respect to the judicial institutions.

In jurisprudence and ethics, the trail of Socrates and his death, as amply narrated in three famous Dialogues: the Apology, Crito, and Pheado, is the most significant event in the history and development of political and civil institutions. The importance of these Socratic dialogues is their relevance in guiding us on how an individual ought to handle himself or herself when accused unjustly under an unjust law in a court controlled by the accuser state leader(s). The lesson Socrates is teaching us is the virtue of respecting the institution of the judicial system even if individual judges and/or the government may be corrupt. Socrates defended himself vigorously, even if he taunted the Athenian jury and his three accusers occasionally. He was respectful of the judicial practice of his city-state and the institution. Even after Socrates was convicted and faced with execution, he refused the pleading of his friend (Crito) to escape from prison for his friends had arranged for him a safe passage out of prison and far from Athens. Socrates found it necessary to obey the judgment of his peers as his civic responsibility.

The Leaders of CUD now convicted of serious crimes should have also learned the lesson given to all of us by Prof. Asrat Woldeyes on the way he handled similar charges leveled at him by the Government of Meles Zenawi. All of us should learn from the exemplary “presence” in Court of Prof. Asrat Woldeyes, how he used polite words, how he honored the dignity of the Court even when the presiding judge acted disrespectfully toward him a few times, and completely looked ridicules and quickly mended his belligerent ways. His deep bow to the Court at the beginning and close of each of his appearances, I am told by friends who actually witnessed the hearings, left a deep mark in their memories of Prof. Asrate’s dignity and statesmanship. He brought honor and dignity to a Court that had lost its own honor and dignity.

When an individual becomes a public figure, the personal life is held at bay. One must think of one’s actions in terms of the impact it may have on the public, and because of that, one may have to sacrifice the private life and all self-interests. It is easy to prescribe different course of actions than the one taken by an individual who is immersed, body and soul, in a struggle, for someone from the comfort of one’s own home. As the saying goes, “Letekematch semai qrbu.” My suggestions here are meant as lessons for future events and not some kind of censor, after the fact, of CUD leaders.

III. The Haunting Legacy of Mengistu Hailemariam

The horrible legacy of Mengistu Hailemariam is still with us, making our lives ever painful as an open wound still hemorrhaging and far more difficult to heal even after seventeen years. I hear some of my fellow Ethiopians saying that we should forgive those who committed such atrocities on the Ethiopian people and move on. I believe in justice, punishing criminals and not appeasing or forgiving them because of political expediency. In fact, because I was so incensed with such unbearable suggestions, I wrote a long essay on the issue of forgiveness and justice, and posted Part One of the essay in this Website on May 20, 2007 titled “The Ethics and Politics of Forgiveness: a challenge to a just society.”

Just to remind us lest we forget, since forgetfulness of the atrocities of our past leaders seems to be our shameful disposition especially in the Diaspora, Mengistu and his associates and collaborators murdered Emperor Haile Selassie I. They murdered sixty High Government Officials including two Prime Ministers Aklilu and Endalktchew, and the then New Head of State General Aman Amdom, during the night of November 23rd, 1974. Several war heroes and patriots, who fought the Italians with great courage and sacrifices 1935-41, were not even spared in their advanced age from the brutal murderous guns of Mengistu’s liquidators. Even those seriously sick and in their death bed were hauled to the execution ground and brutally murdered.

The atrocities of Mengistu and his associates and collaborators is not limited to individuals in political power, but also included religious fathers whether Orthodox Christians, Protestants, or Moslems. Mengistu’s thugs murdered our religious Fathers Patriarch Tewoflos, Qes Gudina Tumsa, and several other religious leaders, and detained several more around the country. The Red Terror was started in the early part of September 1976. It was the brain child of Meison and the Derg and had nothing to do with the assassination attempt on Mengistu’s life that occurred almost a month later.[v] The Red Terror came to its full genocidal proportions after the execution in a coup on February 3rd 1977 of President Teferi Benti and five other high Derg members.

The Red Terror’s most destructive and utterly barbaric undertaking took place on March 22, 1977 where it was reported that in Addis Ababa alone over ten thousand people were murdered in one day! Following that in a time span that lasted for less than a week, Mengistu and his collaborators unleashed the bloodiest murderous orgies in Ethiopian history, usually referred to as the first phase of the Red Terror, where over one hundred forty thousand Ethiopians young (as young as fourteen and fifteen year olds) and old, men and women, heroes and bandas alike were murdered, literally butchered by armed thugs under the direction of Mengistu and his supporters mainly in Addis Ababa, Bahr Dar, Deredawa, Dessie, Gondar, Harar, Jimma, Mekelle, and several other towns and villages all over Ethiopia. Even Grazziani the Fascist General did not commit such barbarism on Yekatit 12. By the time the Red Terror was over, well over into the 1980s, half a million innocent Ethiopians were butchered by Mengistu and collaborators that included his Ministers and high officials as well even if they were not directly in the field of operation.[vi]

The harm done to the public image of Ethiopia during the military reign of Mengistu is incalculable. Because of the savagery of Mengistu’s Red Terror, which was of a magnitude like that of Rwanda, Ethiopia lost its prestige and importance in world politics. There is no doubt that Mengistu tarnished the respectability of Ethiopia around the world. Not only we are looked down by the rest of the world, but also despised as a barbaric and violent society. I am convinced the secession of Eritrea became acceptable in the West, even overlooking international law and practices, due to Mengistu’s brutality in the murder of the sixty senior high Government Officials and the Red Terror. It also cemented the resolve of the many freedom fighters in the area including that of EDU. It is difficult for Ethiopians these days to convince people when confronted by demands of secessionism that Ethiopia as a nation has a right to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. For example, Western governments tend to believe the worst of Ethiopia in any crises because of Mengistu’s Red Terror and the murder of sixty high government officials which is still fresh in their memories. This fact may seem trivial to people who do not understand the intricacies of international relations. What Mengistu did amounts to national suicide in terms of our international relations.

In fact, when I reflect on that brutal Mengistu’s government atrocities during the period from 1974 to 1991, where all in all no less than two million Ethiopians lost their lives and the entire nation was held hostage in a kind of concentration-camp reminiscent of Nazi Germany under the most savage conditions, I believe supporting Kinijit, as it is organized and staffed at this moment, tantamount to supporting the Derg and help its leaders recover what they lost in 1991. Especially those fanatics, who are now all over the Internet, would like to have Hailu Shawel and other former officials and members of the security forces of Mengistu Hailemariam government, takeover as leaders of Kinijit International and lead the Diaspora Ethiopian community. The problem with such fantasy is that were it to succeed, such individuals as the new leaders for Ethiopia will end up driving a wedge of enormous dissatisfaction between the millions of Ethiopian Moslems, Ethiopian Somalis, Afars, Omotic and Southern Ethiopians, and millions of Ethiopia’s female population. I am ashamed of all of us that we don’t seem to learn from past experience. We should all be wearing brown paper bags over our heads and stop making appearances in political gatherings and cyberspace and stop pretending to fighting for the freedom of our brothers and sisters back in Ethiopia.

IV. The Opposition and its Leaders

A. The Day After

I am of the opinion that had the CUD Leaders come into power as they were constituted in 2005, they would have brought about serious problems if not calamity of biblical proportion to Ethiopia rather than democracy. I know that my view is very unpopular, but that would not change the bitter reality. In my experience, having lived through three governments and involved at the initial stage of the overthrow and takeover of a brutal government by force, I have some solid ground for holding such view. What is tragic is for some people to consider such remarks and analysis by me to be some kind of support to the Government of Meles, and even worse being labeled as narrow Tygrean ethnicist. The most vociferous supporters of CUD are also the ones who are in most denial of the depth of the entrenchment of Mengistu and his representatives and former officials such as Kassa Kebede, the enfant terrible of that regime, Hailu Shawel the ex-official in Mengistu’s Cabinet et cetera in the forefront and behind the whole Opposition movement. When you add the presence of former Red Terror participants, Negede Gobeze et al as propagandists, strategists, and organizers, and even in leadership positions, it was clear to me where we were heading.

Negede Gobeze in his book and in discussion has made it abundantly clear that the Opposition’s muscle would come from ex-members of the defunct Workers Party of Ethiopia, Mengistu’s version of the Ton Ton Macoute, the millions of demobilized former military personnel and those who are in active service, and from former security officials and their cell members, the deadliest of them all, some of whom still maintained as part of the security system of the current Government. Without the EPRDF forces making up the core of the current Ethiopian Army and security forces, having disbanding Mengistu’s military and security apparatus, it would not have taken long for Hailu Shawel and his Dergist supporters to reinstate the dreaded butchers of Mengistu back into play. The repeat of the Red Terror would have played out all over again. It is obvious when campaigning to the Diaspora converts in 2005 he dare say that it might take about ten thousand to a few more thousand lives but he would drive out EPRDF. Mind you at the time he was making such statement, there was no visible sign of any armed group waiting for his command for his context was the underground organization of Dergists. It is both an insult and a disservice to Ethiopia to have such individuals in any political party let alone as leaders.

I hear in conversations, and I read in articles about the Opposition movement being defined by the characteristics of its most visible leaders who are now in detention and recently convicted. It is totally misleading to base the claim of virtue for the entire Opposition by expounding the greatness of few leaders who are being used as some diabolical camouflage to hide the monster lurking under. Such approach is what logicians refer to as a fallacy by composition. Recently a well intentioned Website, reposting my recent criticism of Sebhat Nega’s interview, used a disclaimer because of my criticism of Kinjit, by writing out only the names of those honorable individuals who are not tainted by the Red Terror or associate of Mengistu.[vii] Nevertheless, except one or two, most Opposition leaders have led in the past questionable political lives. The one individual that does not belong in the group both in terms of age and record of previous political associations is Judge Birtukan. I sincerely believe Judge Birtukan is an exceptional person with great moral integrity as a judge, but I am skeptical she would make the transition to being a politician where flexibility and compromise is most desirable.

My criticism or questioning is not an endorsement of the detention and now the conviction of those CUD political leaders. I have stated repeatedly that the arrest and detention (and now conviction) is a blatant abuse of power and gross violations of the fundamental and political rights of the detained and convicted Opposition leaders. I see confusion of issues in this regard even by individuals with experience who are overcome by their hate for the current government not because of its crimes but more because of the ethnic identity of Meles Zenawi and his TPLF.

If one hates a snake, there is no compelling reason that one has to kiss the next frog that chanced by. We have several choices of actions. We do not have to be intimidated or blackmailed into supporting Kinijit. We can start a new political party free of the dominant influence of Degrists and ethno-nationalists who are blinded and ready to sacrifice the rest of us due to their hate for Meles Zenawi because of his ethnic background. Most importantly, we should not be used to help launch the political career of ambitious individuals with checkered past. There is no reason why we have to support the formation of a feudal-elitist structure that is being filled by old-comrades from Mengistu’s Cabinet and WPE. The problem screams at us the loudest by the absence of diversity or representative leadership in Kinijit. “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment...” [Matthew 9: 16]

I have often read challenges against people like me, people who are objecting to the types of manipulation underway to bring to power former Derg officials, maybe even Mengistu the monster, to produce evidence to show that Kinijit is dominated by Dergists, ethno-nationalists, et cetera. Here below is a list of the Kinijit International Leadership (KIL), which list should be one convincing evidence to you how far the Kinijit leadership is stratified with former Mengistu officials, Mengistu’s enforcers and security members, ex-WPE members et cetera along with few naïve ethno-nationalists. The leadership of KIL is one caldron of recrimination and feud just as the parent organization CUD was. Major Yosef Yazew has challenged both the authenticity and content of Hailu Shawel’s recent letter that nominated additional members for KIL. Yemaiategib enjera kemitadu yastawiqal.

Elected by President of Kinijit, Hailu Shawel, Mengistu/Derg, Ex- Minister

1. Taye Wolde Semayet (Dr.) Teachers Association/ethnicist

2. Kifle Mulat Journalist/ ethnicist

3. Asefa Deres Mengistu/Derg, ex- Minister

4. Mesfin Amha (Dr.) ?

5. Aklog Birara (Dr.) ? Mengistu/Derg, Sympathizer

6. Merse Ejjigu Mengistu/ Derg, ex-Minister

7. Zergabatchew Asfaw Mengistu/Derg, ex-Minister

8. Taddese Gebrekidan Moges-Alemayehu/Derg, ex-Bank Governor

9. Samuel Habte ? Mengistu/Derg, Sympathizer

10. Woldeyesus Gebremariam (Dr.) ?

12. Seyoum Zenebe ?

As you may observe from the above list, Mengistu/Derg is well represented in this group of “leaders” join up with the existing KIL. This is not to say that individuals do not change, but why should we take chances when we could start with fresh, untarnished Ethiopians as leaders. I have serious misgivings about the leadership of CUD/Kinijit from the beginning of its formation because of the past proximity of several of its leaders to Mengistu Hailemariam and the WPE, and also to the disbanded Mengistu’s military and security command structure. Especially the leadership of Hailu Shawel was very troubling to me on several grounds, least of which his high position in Mengistu’s government for few years, and the fact that he never condemned that bloody regime, but lived comfortably even benefited from his previous association with Mengistu and his government to the day Mengistu runaway abandoning his government in 1991.

I also questioned the process of the formation of Kinijit at a time of a crises facing CUD soon after the May 2005 national election. It seems like the political organization of Hailu Shawel had taken over the constitutive coalition of the independent organizations of CUD. More importantly I am worried by the fact that it seems that Kinijit reflects a political ideology that is both elitist and narrow ethnicist. I hear from supporters of Kinijit that it was accepted by the voters in the 2005 election. The problem with that argument is the fact that Kinijit did not exist at that time nor did it participate in any election.

Moreover, my reading of the eighty paged “Manifesto” of Kinijit did not dispel my reservation whether Kinijit really is a viable political organization rather than a vehicle for few individuals to grasp political power. There are serious conceptual gaps at different levels in the Kinijit “Manifesto” between its leftist ideologies and its patronizing almost feudal over all tone. The Manifesto’s “great” innovation is changing the compound word “self-determination” in to “self-administration.” Other than that it uses the terminology of a pseudo revolutionary left leaning party program, such as terms that we have heard adnausium “nations” and “nationalities.” It is obvious the manifesto is a chimera made up of parts of conflicting or discordant economic and political programs. As a strong believer of a unitary state structure, I am strongly critical of the use of terms like “nations” and “nationalities” in defining and categorizing the citizens of a state. As far as I can see, there is only one Ethiopian nation with individual citizens who may have different ethnic and linguistic attributes. I am not making this type of statement to please any ultra nationalist group. It is my considered view, having witnessed in the last thirty years in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world how such leftist concepts of “nations” and “nationalists” were the main justifications and reasons for atrocities even genocide, that the use of such terms in a constitution or a manifesto in general is unwise. Personally, I am adamant that no political program should ever entertain such concepts under the present condition of conflicted society in Ethiopia or else where.

This form of political and economic program adopted by Kinijit is an approach that is hopelessly irreconcilable to political development that they are aiming at. This fact of a confused political and economic program that is often overlooked by supporters and critics alike is a symptom of the deep flaw in the Kinijit organization itself. Trying to be everything to everybody, especially to conflicting groups, renders an organization ineffective. When one adds the irreconcilable background of the leaders, there is really nothing left except the raw ambition for power of few individuals that prop up such organization. The composition of the leadership of Kinijit and those who were/are behind the scene pulling the strings like puppet-masters were/are of mixed bag consisting of Mahel Sefaries and Dergist, former close associates of Mengistu such as Kassa Kebede and others leftist Red Terror participants such as Negede Gobeze and very many others.

The fact that I brought these issues in to our discourse tells me there is a fundamental difference in the way I look at Kinijit/CUD leadership than what is claimed by supporters and members of Kinijit/CUD. People seem to be focused on getting rid of Meles Zenawi at any cost; whereas, my concern is not about acquisition of political power ethnicity or nations and nationalities, but the type of leadership that would help promotes democracy in a unitary state of Ethiopia. For example, even accepting the idea of having an opposition political group as a good start to fight the current dictatorial government of Meles Zenawi, I do not see any significant members from EPRP, Meison, ARDUF (from organizations), or Somali, Afar, Tygrean, Omotic (from ethnic groups), or Moslems (religion) or Women (gender) in the leadership of KIL, even as token individuals thrown in here and there in KIL.

The individuals that are identified as the leaders of CUD/Kinijit were and still are living a political marriage of extreme convenience that will break apart in the first power struggle that will happen for sure. We have already witnessed indications of power struggle within CUD before it was disrupted by the arrest of the Leadership of CUD. The infighting in KIL is raging despite signing some form of accord a couple of weeks ago. Even more so, I am concerned that the political base of CUD/Kinijit is not firm due to the participation of massive support from the former defunct Workers Party of Ethiopia members and Mengistu’s former military and security people carrying with them their structural organization, seemingly disbanded but still intact back in Ethiopia. Such individuals organized in the traditions of totalitarian cells and control structures will disrupt further political development by usurping power from those outsider non-Dergist figure-head CUD/Kinijit Leaders who really do not have any sold military or security base on their own. Those who were connected as high officials or members of the forces during Mengistu’s Government such as Hailu Shawel, Major Getachew Mengiste, Major Yosef Yazew et cetera are the real force behind the current Kinijit organization. Individuals with radical ideas and those with ideas of liberal democracy would have been phased out or purged in a couple of years after the assumption of Power by Kinijit Dergists. Especially individuals like Yacob Hailemariam, Berhanu Nega, Befekadu Degife are most vulnerable and would be the first victims of a power struggle. It will be a repeat of the same type of power game played out in both Mengistu’s Derg and later Meles’s TPLF.

The situation is even grimmer than what I have described above when we consider the fact that most of the leaders in CUD/Kinijit are aging individuals in their mid sixties to late seventies. This means that the people who are now waiting in the wings, who are mostly former Mengistu’s cadres, who were either in school or in low positions in the WPE political apparatus, or in the Regime’s military and security structures, will be the best situated candidates to carry on the legacy of that horrible regime. Do not doubt it a minuet, these people are hungry, well organized, and ready to go. What is needed to counter the reestablishment of the rudiments of Mengistu’s legacy, from usurping political power from the people of Ethiopia through meaningless ritualized elections, is the establishment of a democratic opposition political organization that will not allow any former officials of the Derg or Mengistu’s regime to be part of the organization. The greatest enemy to democracy in Ethiopia is still Mengistu Hailemariam, as well as his ghost that is still haunting Ethiopia in the guise of political opposition organizations.

B. The Political Maturity of the Opposition Leaders?

“Le hatean yemeta le tsadkan” referring to a form of generalized destruction though aimed at evil doers is now having a new twist in the Ethiopian political environment. Ethiopian political environment may be characterized by its infantile-demagogy, by its either/or false dilemma, feudo-elitism et cetera. Now, what we have in Kinjit’s claim of legitimacy is the distorted version of the earlier quoted saying, “Le tsadkan yemeta Le hatean” meaning what is meant to reward good citizens would end up helping despicable evil doers as well. The leadership of Kinijit is overwhelmingly influenced by former Derg/Mengistu officials, Red Terror participants (directly or indirectly), colorless bureaucrats et cetera, and now such individuals unashamedly make up the majority of the leadership of KIL. Of course, there are few individuals among the ranks who may be considered as “innocent” individuals, and their innocence is a presumption because they are relatively speaking new to Ethiopian politics and not because they do not have mean streaks of narrow ethnicism. It may even include individuals who were either persecuted by Derg/Mengistu, which fact can be easily ascertained as a matter of historical factual record, or too young at that time to have been seriously in the din of things compared to the many who have spent all of their lives in political movements and struggles.

The strategy of this Dergist group is simple, to use honorable people to camouflage the many unsavory individuals in Kinijit organization. When we consider the new list of the leadership of KIL, we see no Moslems, we see one lone woman, no Tygreans, no Somalis or Afars, no Wolloies, no Southern/Omotic Ethiopians except Gurages. For an organization with a manifesto that uses concepts of “nations” and “nationalities,” such exclusion of a large segment of the Ethiopian population is an extremely serious problem. For those who are in denial of the narrow base of the leadership of the Opposition group, this list of names of the KIL is a wakeup call. The roster of the leadership of KIL seems like the list of an alumnae association of former officials in the Government of Mengistu Hailemariam.

It is truly laughable to think this group of individuals, who do not seem to have even a rudimentary understanding of democracy in a multi ethnic societies, who have failed to visualize an Ethiopia beyond their own myopic perception of their immediate surrounding, can lead a great nation like Ethiopia, a nation of mosaic of cultures and people. The group is also highly elitist, and insultingly so. Are these the leaders who would replace the current Ethiopian Government of Meles Zenawi? By comparison, Meles Zenawi, even with his treason and divided loyalty, smells more and more like a rose considering the fact that his Government Members, Ambassadors, Generals and Commanders, are often to a high degree from diverse ethnic groups, a lot more reflective of the mosaic of ethnic groups of the rich tapestry of the Ethiopian people compared to the leadership team of KIL.

When I consider the fury with which Kenijit Members and supporters and several vociferous Website owners blindly support the leaders of Kinijit, irrespective of the checkered past lives of many of the leaders, I am reminded of the biblical saying from Proverbs, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” [Prov. 26:11] I ask what all these hoopla is for. Are Kinijit Members and supporters aware of the fact that they are in fact supporting the come-back of Mengistu or his former officials? Replacing the current Ethiopian Government with former officials of Derg/Mengistu, men and women who were part and parcel of the regime of the Red Terror, a desirable goal? Most of these characters were members of the criminal Workers Party of Ethiopia (WPE) and a few of them were Ministers. Even if we exonerate them from direct participation in the Red Terror, they were close enough to Mengistu when he butchered tens of thousands of Ethiopians that some of the blood of those innocent Ethiopian victims must have splattered on them.

Transformation of individuals from past destructive roles into constructive roles as members of society is not to be discredited prima facie. However, even in the most forgiving and generous society, there is a maximum degree of atrocity, corruption, and collaboration with a criminal fascist government beyond which no degree of regret or transformation would be accepted by the victims. The brutality and utter evilness of the Government of Mengistu Hailemariam has no comparison in the history of Ethiopia. And those who were directly involved in the policy making process of Mengistu’s government, those who were mere executioners, those who were functionaries of the military regime as Ministers, Directors et cetera are all collectively responsible for the crimes and violence and barbarism committed by Mengistu and his military regime.

“Politics is the art of the possible” through compromise, but not to the extent of allowing such compromise to obliterate one’s individuality and core principles. I appreciate the political necessity to compromise and work together with people from opposing organizations. However, there is a limit how far one compromises core principles for political expediency. In other words, it is only fair to examine the inner structure of any organization that is made up by political groups with drastically opposed political ideologies and past history. It would be tragic to form such a chimera of political diverse groups only to find later oneself in a deadly power struggle/fight for survival.

There is a tendency that I observed in discussions that the supporters and members of the Opposition seem to go beyond decent admiration of their Leaders who are currently in prison. They seem to be engaged in the obsessive deification of the Opposition leaders who are in detention. Let us not forget that those individuals who are now in prison are politicians and not religious leaders. They are seeking power; they are seeking leadership for any number of reasons that we have heard politicians give for running for office—from saving a nation from disaster to building roads and bridges. As politicians often do, the imprisoned Leaders have compromised their individual feelings even principles to form the current Opposition. How else could a former official of Mengistu be a member of a team of leadership that has as members a former EPRP, or Meison, or liberal democrat? Such compromise may be a sign of political maturity and opportunism, but not of sainthood or ethical purity. Therefore, they need be treated as politicians and not as religious leaders or saints.

At any rate, the coalition of the opposition groups in CUD, whose constitutive organizations were forced or cajoled into becoming Kinijit, is not a mature structure. What is happening is a step toward a repeat of what happened to Meison in its fateful coalition or cooperation with the Derg. The Derg used Meison to purge EPRP, and turned against it once the Derg has mastery of the political situation. The first thing the leaders of Kesta-Damena (Rainbow) organization should do when their Leaders are freed is to break clean from Hailu Shawel and the Dergists, and reinvigorate their party with clarity of goals and the recruitment of new members from the general Ethiopian population, especially the urban young, teachers and their students, and labor union members.

V. Conclusion

I harbor no ill feelings to those Ethiopians who are sincerely struggling to bring about democratic changes to the people of Ethiopia, even when these fellow Ethiopians are making strategic blunders associating themselves with former Derg officials, with criminals who participated directly or indirectly in the Red Terror, colorless bureaucrats et cetera. In fact, I consider myself standing by their side in the trenches in the fight for the salvation of our much abused motherland. I have personal knowledge of many of the Leaders of both Kinijit and the KIL, and a few having been close personal friends. I do not believe any of them would be capable ever leading Ethiopia into a democratic society; they have gone too far in hate politicking.

The popular saying, “What does not kill you will make you strong,” is wrong for once because what does not kill you might cripple you rather than making you strong as claimed. What I see in most of us, especially Ethiopians of my generation and the one before mine, is the fact that we have lived through great personal and communal suffering, and such suffering has crippled us in many ways. For example, we are the most vicious and hateful generations. We have committed indescribable atrocities on our fellow Ethiopians during the Red Terror and other violent crimes since.

Rather than seeking atonement for our generations’ crimes and gross mistakes, we are unashamedly seeking political offices with zeal. Rather than going through genuine contrition for all of our inequities against our fellow Ethiopians, we want to sweep our dirt under the proverbial carpet of pretensions. Rather than showing our gratitude for the great sacrifices of our county in educating us, we turn around and flaunt our education rubbing our diplomas and degrees in the faces of our less fortunate brothers and sisters. We have created an elitist feudal structure of our own, stratified with contemptuous hierarchy. Especially those of us in the Diaspora are the most pathetic Ethiopians of all, with our self-aggrandizement and egotistical indulgence.

Here we are demonstrating and agitating day and night “to liberate” Ethiopia from the grip of Meles Zenawi and “Tygres,” when we are not even capable of liberating ourselves from the obsession we have with the acquisition of power. Our politics is juvenile, and decidedly parochial. When we chat in the Internet, we betray our rustic origin with our extreme vulgarity and cowardice hiding behind fabricated names and throwing poisoned darts of bigotry at each other. When we succeeded in our economic life having some more spare-changes, we try to be politicians spending such money wastefully that could have been magnanimously used by channeling it into charitable programs in Ethiopia or creating endowments, scholarships, even academic chairs for Ethiopians here in the United States. No, not so; we want to be kings even emperors, our wives queens and our children princes and princesses. What a scarecrow caricature we have become!

Let me put it plainly, and do not doubt my words, what is going on in our community in the Diaspora is a fight for the soul of Ethiopia without Ethiopians. It is a fight for a choice between a treasonous political leadership on one side and the former officials of the defunct Mengistu/Derg regime trying to recover the political power they lost in 1991 on the other side. This is a political fight that has been delayed sixteen years and now is catching up with us, for we failed to establish alternate democratic institutions. Ω

[ii] Update on CUD Court Proceedings on June 11, 2007: (Aigaforum Jun 11, 2007):- As readers recall the accused cud officials were allowed to review their case as a group which they did over the past week or so. The accused CUD officials were brought to court today and asked if they will defend their case. The court in its earlier decision has found the evidence against them acceptable and warned them their decision to defend or not defend would be detrimental. True to form while some of them agreed to defend their case a vast majority declined to defend and the court has found them guilty and will sentence them July 1st1999(ec).

Those who chose to defend their case are: Bedru Adem, Daniel Bekele, Nesanet Demisse, Mebratu Kebede, Alemayoh Yeneneh, Girma Amare, Dawit Kebede, Wosenseged Gebrekidan, Kidist Bekele.The next court day for these people to start defending their case will start June 11,1999(ec)

Although Dr Berhanu group also wanted to defend their case due to heavy pressure from Hailu Shawel and Prof Mesfin the group failed to make their mind to defend or not defend thus came empty handed to court. The court then in the absence of a yes or no answer from the group passed their guilty verdict and set the sentencing date to July 1st1999(ec). Our source told us Dr Berhnu plead to the group and ask the group why they were approaching the issue like an organization matter but his plea got deaf ear from Hailu Shawel and company and was forced to join the majority.

[iv]Niemoller was a reverend in the Lutheran Church when he wrote the statement quoted above. “On the other hand, I think that something is missed if one doesn’t understand that the words come from a man who also declared that he ‘would rather burn his church to the ground, than to preach the Nazi trinity of ‘race, blood, and soil.’ Niemoller was tainted. He had been a U-boat captain in WW I prior to becoming a pastor. And he supported Hitler prior to his taking power. Indeed, initially the Nazi press held him up as a model... for his service in WW I. [Newsweek, July 10, 1937, pg 32] But Niemoller broke very early with the Nazis. In 1933, he organized the Pastor’s Emergency League to protect Lutheran pastors from the police. In 1934, he was one of the leading organizers at the Barmen Synod, which produced the theological basis for the Confessing Church, which despite its persecution became an enduring symbol of German resistance to Hitler. From 1933 to 1937, Niemoller consistantly trashed everything the Nazis stood for. At one point he declared that it was impossible to ‘point to the German [Luther] without pointing to the Jew [Christ] to which he pointed to.’ [from Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict] He rejected the Nazi distortion of ‘Positive Christianity’ (postulating the ‘special virtue’ of the German people), as opposed to ‘Negative Chistianity’ which held that all people regardless of race were guilty of sin and in need of repentance.” http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Politics/niemoller.shtml as retrieved on Jun 9, 2007.

[vi] See Kiflu Tadesse, The Generation Part II, Lanham MD: University Press of America, (1998); Alex de Waal, Evil Days: Thirty years of war and famine in Ethiopia, New York: Human Rights Watch, (1991).

[vii] “Editor's note: It should be noted that though Professor Tecola critique and confession is commendable, his conclusion is quite questionable. He obviously needs to do deeper research whether the party of Judge Birtukan Mediksa, Dr Berhanu Nega, Dr Hailu Araya, Dr Yacob Hailemeriam et al is a party of Amhara supremacists or a party of intellectual Ethiopians who are eager to change Ethiopia for the better. The Professor should not repeat the same mistake. Though we are not members of Kinijit, we recognise the huge sacrifices of its leaders who haven't committed any crimes except challenging the tyranny of the TPLF gang.” http://www.addisvoice.com/article/treason_of_sebhat.htm., as retrieved on Jun 16, 2007.

Dear EZ, Thanks for allowing Hagos to send Woyane's undercover message in a differnt fshion. I believe 'The best WOYANE is the dead one'Hethe rest other the same. Hagos used the word 'Derg' instead of 'Amhara' to disguise his hatrate of CUD. Hagos covered his poisonous message with few good words at the beginning and ended up with mess like every other Tigre ethnicist. Dear Netters, this man is one of the tigreans that wept on the streets of Mekele when they learned CUD's landslide victory in Addis, regreting for going to election. This arrogant psychic believes 3 million people in addis and several million in the rest of Ethiopia who casted the ballots are wrong. Fellow lands men and women! These googmangoogs shall go once for ever. Their politics of hate against every one and CUD shall finish them off. Their time is over. The only thing we shall do is to cut their life line for last time.Adunga

Even if it is sickening, I read some of your articles previously posted in some website, including this one. In those articles, you make the Amharas totally responsible for every thing that went wrong and is going wrong in Ethiopia. I found that you have a very deep hate to the Amharas. Besides, I found that you hate the Derg in strongest terms. I think part of your hate for KINIJIT is based on your wrong, implicit or explicit, premise that KINIJIT is a party of the Amharas or the former Derg officials– whom you hate very much.

Your argument can be generalized as follows: that KINIJIT neither existed during the election nor participated in it (paragraph 28); that the jailed KINIJIT leaders should have respected the current judicial system in Ethiopia and should have died (if they are sentenced to death), just like Professor Asrat Woldeyes or Socrates; and that KINIJIT is a party of the former Derg Officials, an elitist (none-inclusive), and a leftist.

It seems you are, at least, out of touch of reality and, at most, insane. Even if it was irregular and even if it involves a lot of vote riggings, there was an election in Ethiopia and KINIJIT participated in it. Had it not been due to the involvement of KINIJIT in the election and the subsequent rigging of the vote by EPRDF/TPLF, we would not have been in the current dire political situation. Besides, your position is inconsistent with the position of millions of Ethiopians (including members of EPRDF), in general, and members of the international community like the EU, in particular.

The issue of whether social change can be brought by judicial system within a tyranny is debatable. Some hold that it is possible to bring social change by a judicial system within a tyranny. These people cite some instances in which the court system has been used to bring some (nominal) social changes like in the former South Africa and India. Some, however, hold otherwise.

Under the prevailing circumstances in Ethiopia today, I think it is not possible to bring or get social changes, in general, and justice, in particular. To say the least, there is no independence of the judiciary in Ethiopia today. The judges are elected and run by party officials. Besides, our judges, especially those assigned in political cases, do not adhere to strict “formalist” interpretation of the law; they rather tend to “positivist” interpretation of the law. Thus, I think, from a legal point of view, the stand of some of the jailed KINIJIT leaders not to defend themselves is justifiable. Besides, it is justifiable from a political point of view in a sense that if they had defended themselves it means that they would have implicitly recognized the jurisdiction of a court that they did not accept as independent and fair, and for whose reconstitution as independent and fair system, they are struggling.

The argument that Hailu Shawel used to work with Derg, that Hailu Shawel is now the leader of KINIJIT, and thus KINIJIT is Derg is fallacious. Hailu shawel, in fact, used to work with Derg; but he was neither a member of Derg nor WPE; besides, he did not do any thing illegal while he was working with Derg; if he did, his fate would have been sealed with the former Derg officials who are now in “alem bekagn”- and EPRDF would have loved to do that. Moreover, the ideology of Derg and KINIJIT are diametrically opposite. I do not know why you raise Dr. Negede Gobez in relation to KINIJIT. As far as I am concerned, Dr. Negede Gobez is a member of HIBRETE, but not KINIJIT. I do not know why you raised the name of Kassa Kebede in relation to KINIJIT, as well. On top of this, let alone their background, it seems you do not know the proper name of the other persons whom you raised in relation to KINIJIT and whom you labeled as ethnicist or Derg. To conclude, your accusations are based on sheer hate and nervousness, and such accusations are identical to the ones lodged by EPRDF during the campaign in the election time, with no avail.

KINIJIT is not elitist or none-inclusive. Relatively speaking, it is the only political party in Ethiopia that tried and is trying to be as inclusive as possible. Do not forget there are some Tigreans in it like Dr. Hailu Araya, some Oromos in it like Birtuakan Midiksa, some Gurages in it like Dr. Birhanu Nega, and so on. Besides, what matters most is the article of association of KINIJIT where it is clearly stipulated that KINIJIT is open to every Ethiopian. Given this, I do not know why you said “[b]y comparison, Meles Zenawi … smells more and more like a rose considering the fact that his Government Members, Ambassadors, Generals and Commanders, are often to a high degree from diverse ethnic groups, a lot more reflective of the mosaic of ethnic groups of the rich tapestry of the Ethiopian people compared to” KINIJIT. As far as I am concerned, KINIJIT is, at least, as diverse as, and, at most, more diverse, than EPRDF.

Concerning the program of KINIJIT and your accusation that KINIJIT is a leftist party, I think you do not read the program properly or you read a distorted version of it or you do not have a firm grasp of Liberal Democracy, Social Democracy, and Revolutionary/people’s democracy. The program of KINIJIT is a liberal, but not a revolutionary one. In fact, some people accused KINIJIT for its tendency of more liberalness. I think you are the only person who accused KINIJIT for its left tendency – I think even Meles will laugh at your conclusion. In fact, KINIJIT used some leftist terms and concepts in its program. But it does so either to denounce such terms and concepts, or to present its programs to the people of Ethiopia with familiar terms and concepts with which the people have been acquainted, formerly, by Derg and, now, by EPRDF.

To conclude, your style of argument is “yetebela ekub nuwe”. It is a remnant of the leftist criticism and self-criticism style of argument; by this I mean the style of, first, you criticize yourself or the person or group you support “a little” to gain acceptance and to seem genuine, and then you send your message home by criticizing the person or group that you want to denounce “a hell lot”. To get acceptance and seem genuine, you begun by criticizing EPRDF and then tried your tricks and accusations on KINIJIT. We have been in this style of argument for the last 30 years, thanks to EPRP, “MESON”, DERG and WOYANE. Besides, the premises that you used to attack KINIJIT and the conclusions you arrived at using those premises are either wrong or weak.

The role of a "shimagile" perssee, The Ethiopian Version, in the present context of the imprisoned Kinijit Leaders and all under the pretext of Violating The Constitution ha sto be looked into in the limelight of the current existing situation in Ethiopia.

For Shimgillina to work the Shimagilles should have a morale supperiority, should have a means to impose the decission of the shimagilles over all parties. The case in question does not indicate the same.

Further, as unfortunately, many have come to belive that shimgillina will work in the case mentioned, one thing we should not forget. Shimagilles have to give or create a face saving situation to all parties involved.

After all that has taken place, the perpetrators, need a way out.

Suppose they accepted the terms agreed upon by the document signed by those in Kaliti and released them, does it not prove the alegation that they were incarcirated for no cause except to exercise their CONSTITUTIONAL WRIGHT! Therfore, do not expect ( I DO NOT ) the Govt. to release them before the sentencing and "obtainning them a presidential pardon " NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE YOUR ENEMY " is a universal rule.

The similarity in history and specially of the group with the author(Ato Tecola Hagos ) included in 1974 and CUD leaders in 2005 is even more interesting in finding Dr Yacob Woldemariam as the competent attorney defending the political prisoners of 1974.

Regarding some of the posts here and the tone of author: There is no question that some Tigrays have all kinds of labels for Amharas and vice versa. When the smear affects political leaders and or stake holders, the judgement and choice might have to be left to the citizen who is at times deprived of information specially about the accurate political back ground of potential stake holders, nominees and leaders. If an organization is Amhara, so are many, organized by ethnicity. CUD’s belief is inclusive of all diverse groups, and the new additions of the council members get elected every two years. Who ever makes the criticism that it is not diverse enough is bringing some awareness. The truth is the current regime’s immediate trusties, stake holders, beneficiaries, trusted Agazi etc are Woyanne Tigrays.

The leadership members of CUD is a diverse group of ethnicity. As you can not label and conclude every Tigray is Woyanne or TPLF, Derg’s former members who are in CUD can not necessarily be excused by their supporters because they are labeled as Amharas and be defended and covered ethnically. The current regime has former Derg officials in some of its administrations. I believe what matters is to know the status and the accurate record of the Derg member who is now a member of any political party. To that extent, Ato Tecola has tried to inform the readers about the positions held by some of the new 11 members in as former Derg officials who were added to Kinijit International Leadership to form Kinijit International Council. The question is in what way did they in their Derg positions affect Ethiopian peoples' lives and safety.

On one side, it is one writer’s belief, experience, account of history, suggestion, and vision to create a new democratic institution. The details and political twists and turns in the author’s opinion might call to ask the writer’s motives and back ground as well, however, many including myself may not object for this post to remain on this page. The restlessness and curiosity about the release of the prisoners of conscience has been so intense, this might give a pause for some reading. The division of the diaspora CUD is also taking place in parallel with this mediation and intense concern about CUD’s leaders release from Kality. Another response to the latest fever is posted on Kinijit.org (June 30, 2007) from their KIC foreign affairs source as “Washington update” is posted by Ato Mefin Mekonen, one of the latest members of the council of 11, has the latest.

Please note that Aiga Forum's segment added as reference reflects what they seem to favour in some of their postings on their web site. Their remark about Hailu Shawel vs Dr. Birhanu may or may not be a reliable truth. They favor Dr. Berhanu as more pro regime Tigrays seem to express the same choice.

Mengistu Hailemariam has said that his father was from Furi, near Addis Abeba, and Oromo. His mother got married to Eritrean guy before or after she was married to his father and he has two brothers who are Eritreans or may be step brothers. I heard Mengistu himself say that over the phone from Zimbabwe on a radio program.

According to Dawit Weldeghiorghis's book 'red tears' which was published long before Derg fell, the Derg itself was looking for non-Amhara to lead Ethiopia in 1974 and the fact that General Aman Andom wasn't Amhara and a war hero was very popular in the army. Though it was really Colonel Attnafu Abate and his inner circle that brought down the Haileselase I government on grudge from many years earlier b/c the national hero Belay Zeleke was hunged in public as if he was a common criminal. Attnafu and his circle of friends in the fourth army division were there when General Mengistu Neway hunged the great resistance fighter Belayae and they were there when General Taddese Biru hunged General Mengistu Neway, and they were there when General Taddese Biru was hunged. And Colonel Attnafu too was 'hunged' by Mengistu. Before that General Teferi Banti too was a popular choice amongst the armed forces to lead the country b/c he was one of the 'simeTir' generals and a non-Amhara though his son Weynishet Teferi was one of the EPRP since his college days in the USA who might have influenced his father towards recouncilation. And then Mengistu was the lone dictator though nobody cared what ethnic group Mengistu was. To this day not too many care about Mengistu's ethnic background. The likes of Tecola Hagos think Mengistu was Amhara.

Ethiopians didn't really care much about ethnic back ground since the 1960s. EPRP, or its former self in the student movement was not ethnicist since the 60s. Some say even the Neway brothers who attempted and failed to remove Emperor Haileselase weren't Amhara but Amharic speaking Oromos, like any Addis Ababan is Amharic speaker.

Something triggered the emperor to be include all and he might not have accomplished the diversity access to everything including real power sharing but he sure did unbelievably well in just one generation with all the institutions which were built in his time. It was General Mulugeta Buli, the chief of staff, who was expected to do what all the generals in Latin America and some part of Africa were doing to their governments instead of General Mengistu Neway who killed Mulegeta Buli and the likes of great resistance fighter Ras Abebe Aregai who were also Oromo to the most part. And Eritreans and Tigreans did get more than their share in every thing short of taking over. The orthodox church was mostly Amhara and Tigrean/eritrean and the EOC had too much power in the past.

The Oromo culture is a littel bit different when you look south of the Yejju Dynasty. But at some point embracing the dominant orthodox culture was accepted and the Oromo Ras Ali and later King Mikael of Yejju was ruling over both Tigray and Wollo and even got his son, grand son of Menilik II, Lij Iyassu, be crown prince and then ruler of Ethiopia after the death of Menilik II.

Ethiopia has been ready to be ruled by non-Amhara for over a hundred years. I don't think even Amharas would tolerate an Amhara party ruling over Ethiopia like many Tigreans are tolerant of TPLF ruling over Ethiopia. If the Amharas were like Tigrayans, Haileselasse's kids or great grand kids would be ruling now with constitutional monarchy or without, pulling the strings behind a diverse cabinet with Oromo prime minister.

The times have changed in Ethiopia. Only up north the paranoid fronts and their fanatic supporters haven't changed a bit. Their hatred for the Amhara have made them hate their own identity and their own country. Since when is it 'jegininet' to kill your own people and give away a port unless you think of building a new country with federal status with those you gave the port to??

It has been 16 years and yet the hate and the paranoia is still going strong. Have you ever bothered to read the words of the TPLF anthem? There were some websites which played only the instrumental music and not the words of that hateful TPLF anthem like DEKI ALULA. When some of the words of the anthem are translated from Tigrigna to Amharic, they read like this...

I do not know Tecola Hagos and do not intend to respond to his diatribe at length, but from the junk he has written, I can surmise he is an Amhara hater. Let me remind him that as an Amhara, we are not going to disappear, and since we are the second largest ethnic group in our country, he would have to lump it or jump off the world. He has substituted the Amhara for Derg in the figment of his imagination, and like his TPLF peers he assimilates the Amhara with the Derg. It is no coincidence that Meles and his TPLF have also tried to portray the Amhara as dergist so as to propagate their ethnocentric rule. In actual fact the Derg started its murderous campaign by killing Amharas first. Mengistu actually ordered the people in a certain region to kill the Amharas with whatever weapons they have within reach.Tecola considers himself a scholar, but as he is blinded by his hatred of the Amhara, he deliberately neglects to do some background checks on those he is accusing of being dergists. It is well known that Hailu Shawel was a technocrat and not a party member. Meles too has several technocrats who worked in the Derg rule. For example, Tekeda Alemu, the Deputy Foreign Minister, worked with the Derg. Meles even released from prison Mengistu's notorious leftist advisers to work with him.

The Doctor is obviously not interested in facts, but many Amharas are inter-mixed and Hailu Shawel is no exception.

I don't know what planet the honorable doctor was on during the May 2007 election, but he declares that "..Kinijit did not exist at that time nor did it participate in any election." The Doctor has also criticized Kinijit's program as being "leftist". It shows how much he knows about Kinijit. Perhaps he read it from aigaforum.

There is one other intriguing theme in Tecola Hagos' article. The Doctor seems most disturbed and quite envious of the fact that Ethiopians have a great admiration and faith in the Kinijit leaders. He is even disparaging of some of them. I would have thought that this admiration is natural considering the great sacrifices the Kinijit leaders have made. These leaders are no paper tigers, they are what the real stuff is all about!

Tecola and his alikes have designed TPLF's policy, if not designed have certainly influenced it. For example he was the one who believed in war against Eritrea was important, because he made the case Siye Abraha, Aregawi Berhe, and Gebru Asrat signed their names on the list and went for a kill. They are the ones that propagated the war to its most destructive level witnessed since WW-II. Tecola Hagos' education certainly helped humanity in creating war rather than avoid one. Tecola never told the people Siye Abraha and the people mentioned have become multi-millionaires in 7-years time. These people come to Ethiopia wearing shorts and sandales, and carrying rifles; in seven years time they all become multi-millionaires. Tecola never once mentioned the corruption TPLF CC members are swiming in, yet he is quick to mention all the negative things associated with Mengistu's administration. Tecola, we had better opportunity under Mengistu, today majority Ethiopians are paying the price for helping to remove Mengistu from power. Unless one is a Tegere s/he cannot have opportunity.

The reasons he gives as to why he hates Amharas is that they gang up together to corrupt their indulgence and take advantage of the vulnerable and the weak, yet his ETHNOCENTRIC TPLF organization is doing just that plus kills many in the process. All TPLF CC Members have bank accounts in their offshore bank accounts, he never mentioned that. They have a regional company whose pipes are desined to liquidate the country'e economic future. They have planted them all in economically lucrative businesses, they are the biggest and most sofisticated industrial level economic suction machineries in every sector in government and society at large. Dr. Tecola never discuss of such violations, he never talks about the rigged election, in fact he defends it.

He also justifies the creation of EFFORT to kill the country's ability to revive ever again. His education was blind on all the negetive aspects of TPLF and their conduct, yet it is actively looking for faults from the Amhara society. Sometimes I wonder whether we give these "academic" folks the benefits of doubts assuming that their enlightenment somehow helps them see the positive aspect of life. However in the case of Tecola Hagos his enlightenment allows him to hide many facts and attempt to exggerate some meaningless and negligeble acts.

Just few days ago Siye was found by TPLF set up court guilty of one of the five charges. He was guilty of millions of Birr. What on earth is a military commander associating hiself with that kind of business? I am not even sure!

------------------------------------------------The increased role of the private sector in the Ethiopian economy outside the agriculture sector is largely due to two groups of actors, the MIDROC-group, owned by the Ethio-Saudi businessman Sheik Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi, and the TPLF-owned Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray, the EFFORT-group.

Sheik Al-Amoudi's business activities include agricultural, Even though Sheik Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi's MIDROCgroup's business activities are widespread and increasing, this group has not created a debate and a criticism that can compete with the debate about and the criticism of the other non-government business group, the EFFORTgroup.

“I speak to you today as the crusader invader forces of Ethiopia violate the soil of the beloved Muslim Somalia, I call upon the Muslim nation in Somalia to remain in the new battlefield that is one of the crusader battlefields that are being launched by America and its allies and the United Nations against Islam and Muslims… Launch ambushes, land mines, raids and suicidal combats until you consume them as the lions and eat their prey.” Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida’s No. 2.

We have hyperlink herein the recent Press Release of “Kinijit,” posted by a group that has claimed to be the official Website of the organization. It is to the benefit of all Ethiopians to consider different views on the current Somali crises. It will be presumptuous of any one to claim one single point of view would suffice to have a good understanding of the problem. Ethiopia’s internal problems are multi-layered, magnified by an unpopular leadership and considered by some to be treasonous and anti-Ethiopia. In this regard we must also mention the fact that some of the activities of some form of a leadership of Kinijit, those claiming to be carrying the banner of the opposition after the imprisonment of the official leaders of CUD by the Meles Government, is no less treasonous too, for they have sought assistance and also participated in at least one international conference sponsored by the Eritrean Government, a sworn enemy of Ethiopia.

We find Kinijit’s current position as expressed in their January 2, 2007 Press Release untenable, and impossible to carry out for it is full of contradictory positions and serious miss statement of facts. It is also against the interest of Ethiopia of preserving its Sovereignty and territorial integrity. For example, the following statement in the Press Release of Kinijit defies reason and known facts: “We hasten to note that the repression the regime is conducting inside Ethiopia is far more worrisome to the stability of the country than the threat posed by benign outside forces.” It is ridiculous to think that one can be able to solve the internal problems of Ethiopia when the very state of Ethiopia is crumbling besieged by foreign aggression. Further more to refer to the historic enemies of Ethiopia as “benign outside forces” is silly if it were not offered as a serious position of a political organization that claims to be the defender of the interest of Ethiopia.

The true essence of the Press Release is its hunger and blind greed for power. Here we have a situation that is a threat to the very survival of the state of Ethiopia, and this opposition group is lamenting its loss of the election of 2005. It is unbelievable to see such blind hunger for power by individuals who had such terrible sense of timing and no political savvy. No matter how the election of 2005 was lost, the continuation of a struggle based on such loss in disregard of the current Somali crises is in itself poor political judgment not to mention its damage to the security of the Ethiopian State. The danger of the Islamic Courts must be appraised as a danger to Ethiopia not to Meles Zenawi and his government.

This brings me to the curious question, at what stage would the Somali crises or any other external threat to Ethiopia’s national security becomes a danger that Kinijit would support the Current Ethiopian Government’s effort to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia? What if Sudan or Eritrea attacks Ethiopia? Would you be saying that Meles has cheated us the 2005 election, therefore we are not going to defend Ethiopia? Some individuals have set up some form of a committee made up of Ethiopians and Somalis, as a counterpoint to Meles’s foreign policy or a sort of a private foreign relation effort. I have no problem with friendships with anybody let alone with our ancient brothers and sisters. However, to think of such social arrangements to determine or influence the politics of the region is childish. It will have minimal impact on the politics of the region.

May I remind everyone that no political ambition equates with the survival question of Ethiopia. Let us take a closer look at Kinijit and the opposition group in the Diaspora. What we find is a motley group of incoherent, discordant, and hate filled communities. Kinijit itself is an organization that is unable to have a coherent leadership. The people who were in the forefront a while back were accused of all kinds of impropriety, and there are now new leaders claiming to have replaced them. In the Internet, I see another group with the same “Seal” claiming representation. It seems to me that “Kinijit,” as its first item on its political agenda, ought to structure itself properly before issuing sanctimonious and ridicules Press Releases.

At any rate, fighting for human rights, political and democratic rights, for civility, and decency is not incompatible with fighting to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. In my recent article, “On Whose Side Are You?..." I have tried to show the distinction between our immediate national interest as opposed to the interests political personalities in leadership position who are abusive and work against our national interest. This is not the first time that we have witnessed Ethiopian leaders abusing and violating the human and political rights of Ethiopians. Even within the opposition we see trends of abusive strands that given time would have evolved as a full-fledged political oppression. Nevertheless, considering the current political crises facing Ethiopia, such local political discontent and skirmish can wait.

There are many examples from our past history where patriotic Ethiopians who were persecuted by a particular leader would nevertheless sacrifice themselves when the threat was against the independence of Ethiopia. One great example was the great Baltcha aba Nefso, the hero of Adwa (March 1, 1896) as commander of the artillery vanguard of Ethiopia's army. Prior to the time of the Italian aggression in 1935, he was demoted from his illustrious governorship of Sidamo and exiled by Emperor Haile Selassie, as punishment for some political opposition activities. Nevertheless, undeterred by the mistreatment he received, he enlisted in his advanced old age (eighties) coming out from his exile (qum eserat) in order to fight the Italians. He was killed trying to liberate Addis Ababa form Italian occupation in 1936.

Would you do any less when Ethiopia is in grave danger than an eighty five year old man? The question must be answered by each one of us not by a committee. The question involves ethical imperatives, issues of duty, concerns of unconditional love, and questions of pride. I am absolutely opposed to Meles Zenawi and his Government. I believe he has done us much harm. Nothing he has done is satisfactory to me. He is a complete failure in my eyes. However, my personal dissatisfaction with Meles and his Government should not blind me from seeing when there is danger to Ethiopia as a whole. Let us not be consumed so much for power that we become the cause of the destruction of Ethiopia because we failed to recognize the political abyss that threatens to rend Ethiopia.

I leave you now to bonder the reported statement of Al-Qaida’s Deputy Commander, the Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, who implores Muslims worldwide to support Somalia’s Islamic Courts terrorists with manpower and money. “I speak to you today as the crusader invader forces of Ethiopia violate the soil of the beloved Muslim Somalia, I call upon the Muslim nation in Somalia to remain in the new battlefield that is one of the crusader battlefields that are being launched by America and its allies and the United Nations against Islam and Muslims… Launch ambushes, land mines, raids and suicidal combats until you consume them as the lions and eat their prey.” This statement by the Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida’s No. 2 has been all over the Internet since yesterday. Ω

Tecola eat another. 'Lelawn bila'. Ethiopia is in danger of foreign mercenary called Meles Zenawi. Not Islamists or Al-Qaida. Ethiopia is a country with half of its people follower of Islam as religion. Ethiopian of all religions have lived together side by side, are suffering from Meles rule side by side and are dying by brutal Meles day-in-day-out. Al-Quaida is said to be active in more than 60 countries including Somalia, USA, Ethiopia..etcMeles & co. are pretending to fight terrorists while their priority is to terrorise their own people to remain in power after they lost the election. The world has witnessed that they are cheats and every one is dropping them from their friendship list. Next someone like you is trying to rescue Meles & co that sold out the nations interest. Please use Addis Zemen or Radio Fana if you don't mind. Bad old habit never goes so easily.What a shame!Netsanet Betigile

Ato tekulaShame on you.it is not the volume of your vomit that justify your dirty joke. you are blaming Kinjit in treason.i dont want to say many thing for you."ayin-aWuta"listen to the prophetic speech of Dr brihanu nega on the foreign policy debate.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ievA8QzmGIg

Well, it seems like Tecola Hagos thinks we are all idiots. He might have some audience in TPLF websites but why is he here? First he says green is almost blue and then blue becomes green in his mind, a few minutes later he says blue is purple almost and purple becomes blue in his twisted mind. But green is neither blue nor purple?

Balcha 'aba nefso' Dachie, whether he was 79 or 89 when he came out of prison to fight the Italians and the banda soldato yet again, shouldn't be used here by a hate propagandist like Tecola Hagos who pretends to oppose Tigrayan apartheid rule which didn't do a damn thing for Tigrayans except make them believe in feudalistic way of 'my guys are ruling' mental masturbation which never goes beyond self abuse with dire consequences which is already starting to show up in him and the others like him. It is how it started...

Ethiopia had a great potential to grow if only the fuedal land lords invested in modern industry. The generation of the 60s went ahead with large scale farming and the streets of Addis were clogged with annoying slow moving tractors in off seasons in early 70s and the emperor's government was encouraging Ethiopians to do buisness. Independence and self reliance was very important back then.

The emperor was loved all over Ethiopia and he moved around the country with little security with his lions and his dignity. The people from Asmara to Maji kissed the ground in pure joy upon seeing their emperor stroll by. For the emperor himself and for most people of Ethiopia, his majesty Hailesselase I was the country in body and mind.

Only the students had different ideas. The students wanted changes and at the beginning the students themselves went to his palace to ask him questions after their demonstrations. The country was at peace and Tewodros's dream has finaly come true with Eritrea coming back home completing the territory claim of the nation. Yohannes IV didn't rule much of the south and Minilik never ruled over Bahire Negash. Ras Teferi did.

There was plenty of food for everybody and the fallen flag has risen up again. The forgiving Ethiopians made Italy their friend and Italians were touched by that gesture and it was the second time Ethiopia has forgiven Ethiopia. Individual Italians made Ethiopia their home and some of them lived in Ethiopia their entire lives and became patriotic Ethiopians.

The land question became very important and the students raised that question for ten years. Somewhere inbetween the student movement became communist. The students started to support the separatist movement and hijacked planes. Walelign Mekonen and Martha Mebratu and others were killed while hijacking a plane. The student movement, later on EPRP, couldn't make up its mind when Siad Bare invaded Ethiopia in the 70s which led to the overnight and shocking demise of that party. The red terror was the cruelest in history until TPLF's non-stop killings of the innocents for 16 years and in red terror EPRP itself turned against EPRP. But the northern liberation fronts didn't have a heart. The EPLF and the TPLF massacred the armed student fighters of EPRP in Assimba which left no choice for urban EPRP members and supporters except being herded like sheep and die in Derg's thousands of prisons after horrible torture.

While Ethiopians were killing each other in Addis Ababa and all over the country with EPRP on the one side and Meison and Derg on the other, and later on Seded, MALERED and the other against EPRP and Meison on the otherside, the northen fronts were happy. And then Mengistu looked like he was selectively killing the fighter generals and never the talker generals which made EPLF and TPLF more happier. While the war was raging in the north Derg was protecting the infrastracture of Eritrea and feeding the people there transporting food with military convoys from Massawa to Asmara and on sea from Assab to Massawa. Derg made sure all civil servants were paid their salaries and the hospitals ran throughout its rule.

Ethiopians at that time hated Derg for obvious reasons but they never agreed with any kind of separation. Civilians were civil and they lived on and inter-married and had ethnically mixed children more than ever. Ethiopia never lost its mind.

And then Derg was gone and the whole world changed. The USSR was no more and communism wasn't IN any more. But in London, UK it was decided that communists who were separatists rule over Ethiopia 'temporarily'. The bravado of TPLF like in 'tornet mashenef bicha aydelem, tornet eneseralen' was disturbing before the hated ethnic politics and 'mekelen Paris enaregatalen'. And then the open favouritism which can't be defended or justified made too many hate TPLF. To make it worst, Eritrea was exporting Ethiopian coffee and changing US dollar for more Birr than Ethiopia openly. Professor Asrat came out of retirment and reminded TPLF that that wasn't right. TPLF responded with killing him and now the gap widened. That gap is not closing.

When TPLF declared war on EPLF over Badme, the famous singers and stage people including Tamagn and Aster rushed to help the war effort of TPLF in Washington DC. The few reasonable people's voices were dwarfed by the volume of the music. And then 100 000 Habeshas died in that war only to be told that Badme was Eritrean.

Professor Yakob Hailemariam wasn't for Assab going to Eritrea but the way TPLF handled the Badme situation enraged him so much that he began to speak up. Yakob came back home and made foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin so mad in one of the pre-election debates that I thought Seyoum was going to pull a gun and kill Yakob right there and then.

But most of all the consistent old man Professor Mesfin who was never shy to speak up demolished TPLF with documented evidence of a decade and a half. Ethiopians became aware of their own people power and the small Kestedamena of Berhanu, Birtukan and a few others played a great role in uniting the opposition. And the south became vocal after what TPLF did there including the Awassa massacre.

After the CUD won the election, only those who didn't join the 'you can't say nothing unless you have 50%' parliament were accused of genocide against Tigreans and dumped in prison. Khidetu Ayalew and very few who joined parliament didn't get charged with the funny thing. Before the leaders were sent to prison, they were harrassed and beaten up and spat upon by TPLF security in civilian clothes. Berhanu had to take American diplomat that looked like Ethiopian in his car to show Americans how horrible the abuse was and the American saw how bad it really was.

Some Ethiopian websites like Elias Kifle's were too quick to judge Birtukan and then Berhanu very harshly because of the TPLF moles that feed them deliberate misinformation. May be it was because of that or may be it wasn't but Birtukan coined a phrase that will live forever, SPIRIT. Individuals come and go but the spirit stays. Ethiopian it is.

Enough with bickering and let's bring TPLF to justice. Let's be ruled by those who were elected. Let's elect our leaders every four years or so. Let's not forget why we needed change in 1974. It wasn't only because we didn't need kings and queens to rule over us but because we thought Ethiopia was lagging behind every other country...seems to be the battle cry of non-violent CUD.

It is the first time Ethiopia has a government that openly hates Ethiopia since Mussolini's invasion but the tragic situation back home is more alarming.

We hear on ETV and Aiga forum that Ethiopia is growing so fast that it will be 'middle income country in a few years'. But Ethiopia can' survive a winter without a hand out. There isn't even a room to grow with all those 'endowments' which are really open bank for few Ethiopia hater TPLF CC which are designed to make non-Tigre Ethiopians hate Tigres. TPLF supporters might tell you the reason why Ethiopia is hungrier than ever is because of the population explosion. But Ethiopia is a big country and each individual can contribute and the more the better. There is no ADEGEGNA BOZENE who doesn't have Ethiopian citizenship.

What TPLF need to understand is that there is a country called Ethiopia.

The truth is Ethiopians are very hungry. 16 years of Tigraen rule hasn't even make Tigrayans happy. Besides being hungry, Tigray has lost territory after Badme. Tigrayans are told they should be happy but in Addis Ababa there are more beggars from Tigray than any other region. TPLF was starting to lose the support from Tigray when the CUD and others shook the ground in May 2005, so Meles had to come with something more shocking. And what can be more shocking than accusing CUD of planning to kill every Tigrean? Very few fools believed that but still some others just went along because they don't want their benefits which are really lootings to stop coming. And then there are the tribalists who would rather be killed by fellow tigrean than live under any other ruler from any other part of Ethiopia. Well, tigrayans are only five or six percent of the population of Ethiopia and hating the Amhara or wishing for the Amhara to die out or disappear doesn't make sense; and at the same time thinking that Oromo and Gurage and Sidama and others would be happily ruled by Tigre party if it wasn't for the Amhara angers the non-tigre, non-Amhara people of Ethiopia. What has TPLF done except propagating hatred? Except assuming that Ethiopians would like separating from Ethiopia if they are not Amhara?

When Derg killed 60 officials of the emperor's gov't, it lost the support of the people and the revolution ended and Derg had to threaten them to come to 'demonstrations' to revolutionary squares all over the country.

Ethiopians can think much better than TPLF thinks they can. The whole Addis didn't elect a single TPLF because TPLF talks to itself in its own very tight tribal circle and only assumes what other ethnic groups want is for one HODAM from their respective ethnic group to be seen on ETV.

If I talk only about my uncles and great uncles to a non-relatives all the time and refuse to hear about their family stories, I sure will make those persons hate my uncles and great uncles let alone me. TPLF might be applouded for hating Amhara by TPLF supporters but Amharas are at least five times more in population than the Tigrayans. And as the saying goes 'sew siyama lenae bileh sima' and the Sidamas who are the third largest ethnic group and more numerous than the Tigres and the others were listening and that is why TPLF's EPRDF didn't win anywhere except in Tigray in the last election.

At first I thought posting Tecola Hagos's article here was stupid move by EZ, whom I trust and admire. But now I think the Amhara haters like Tecola are doing more harm to TPLF and their paternalistic aproach to other non-Amhara ethnic groups and singling out Berhanu and make Kihidetu out of Berhanu might back fire. Didn't most Gurages vote for CUD last time? And why should other ethnic groups like TPLF just because it is not Amhara? I don't think other ethnic groups are less educated than Tigrayans. In fact I think every ethnic group in Ethiopia has doctors and economists and lawyers just like Tigrayans. And Ethiopia is the common place for all of us. The learned people should think of the poor people who paid for their education from Teferi Ber to Assossa and from Karora to Maji and serve us all as Ethiopians. No more entitlment of any kind, not even a pretention...Ethiopia has moved forward and killing Ethiopians to come to power is not something to be proud of especially when depending on a separated entity body and soul to the point of self-hatred.

That is why Kinijit is loved and TPLF hated. I don't feel i am the same with those TPLF people but with CUD people I feel very comfortable no matter which part of Ethiopia they're from. Because for the first time in over thirty years, there are now dreamers who really want to do something positive for all Ethiopians. Because there are now real people who sacrifice their own lives for Ethiopia again. Because those kinijit supporters don't care what my ethnic background is. The spirit is alive and one day Ethiopia won't need anything else than voting for those who accomplish the dream without stealing and giving away territory and ports.

Going home and watching my own people being hungry in this day and age and despite the tones of food-aid which comes but never gets to them leaving them skinny and diseased is no fun. But TPLF daring to critisize Mengistu let alone the emperor is funny. And where should the Amharas go? Leave the country or something? Why does a united opposition from all ethnic groups anger TPLF? Opposition should be there when CUD comes to power but TPLF has done so much damage already that its leaders will have a hard time defending what happened in the past horrible 16 years when even the WEDQO YETENESAW SENDQ-ALAMA was so trashed down and called 'TCHERQ' by TPLF.

To the anonymous(es?) posting long articles (especially in rebuttal to Tecola Hagos). I think they are good pieces. If you take such a long time composing it, I urge that you send it off as a standalone article to be read by many more people than just as a coment on EZ's blog entry. If not EZ, then someone else (Ethiomedia, for example) might publish them as is with their own titles.

Regarding comment about the long posts under the title of Semina Work’s, Ethio-Zagol entry “Will Ephrem Issac please speak up?".

Well, The mediator has not spoken yet any way, and the awaiting for news of the release of CUD leaders has run into a surprise rendevous of a long commentary by the Tecola Hagos (whoever has posted it ).

Re:balCut's suggestion Some of the lengthy post contributors specially are providing readers here with very interesting information, their views as they see it and/ or defending CUD. In my opinion, what has been taking place is a natural flow of response to what is read here as in a thread or a discussion group. It is forming nicely so far: pro, con, accurate facts or not, and at times disputing accuracy. At this writing, I think the value is not in having a big audience, but to have the information and interaction/feed back flow during this exceptional window of time. If they decide to send it as an independent commentary, it will be their choice and that will be another stage. Then again Ethio-Zagol might post some thing new until July 9 that draws attention. MGP

But the northern liberation fronts didn't have a heart. The EPLF and the TPLF massacred the armed student fighters of EPRP in Assimba which left no choice for urban EPRP members and supporters except being herded like sheep and die in Derg's thousands of prisons after horrible torture.

I disagree with the quote below, the liberation fronts did not organize back then, they were busy recruiting their own youngesters when 'EPRP' intervened to share them young kids. It was not that they hated 'EPRP' they were snatching away the youth from the liberation front's hand, so they had to be stopped. On top of sharing the youth, 'EPRP' was also against autonomy for the Eritrean and Tigray liberation movements. That triggered a disfavorable response from the liberation fronts. Why would they kill 'EPRP' if it was only ahgainst Derg? The liberation fronts were against Derg, so Derg was a common enemy. But EPRP's stand was against the liberation fronts, therefore they had to be dealt with before they grew in size and mature in politics. Perasonally, I wouldn't blame the liberation fronts in the demise of 'EPRP.'

To make it worst, Eritrea was exporting Ethiopian coffee and changing US dollar for more Birr than Ethiopia openly. Professor Asrat came out of retirment and reminded TPLF that that wasn't right. TPLF responded with killing him and now the gap widened. That gap is not closing.

One thing many people do not reconcile some facts is, prior to official separation Eritrea was using Ethiopian currency. Therfore, if Eritrean businessmen export Ethiopian coffee it was their cofee too, for they are promoting Ethiopian business and Ethiopian currency employing Ethiopian peasants. At the same time Eritreans were allowing TPLF to use Aseb prot for free, in a way it was a free and fair trade exchange. If it was not for the CORRUPTED nature of TPLF it was a faire trade and exchange. When the Eritreans published Nakfa, all small problems suddenly became magnified 1000X.

Today, Ethiopia's coffee is being exported by TPLF CC members, does that make it any better for Ethiopians? The answer is NO! So stop attempting to make your coffee case, it has a bad taste. I have never seen anyone objecting Eritrean companies employing thousands of Ethiopian for the benfits of Ethiopia. Yet I see wrongly crafted to forment hate amongst Ethiopians against Eritrea was being written everywhere, that hate mongering was the result of tenth of thousands of Eritrean ligitimate business owners and Eritrean Origin Ethiopians sent home neked from the only country they know home. In addition to that WAR was made on that very reason, which resulted in the deaths of ovet 150,000 youth from both sides. In fact, you put it as: When TPLF declared war on EPLF over Badme, the famous singers and stage people including Tamagn and Aster rushed to help the war effort of TPLF in Washington DC. The few reasonable people's voices were dwarfed by the volume of the music. And then 100 000 Habeshas died in that war only to be told that Badme was Eritrean.

Dr.Hagos.you seem to think that the new elected C.U.D members have some form of ties with the previous regime.Infact you gave a personal data of each to convince your hearers that they were as you alleged members of that regime.Personally,I dont believe the scare "cry" of derg have any valid point any more.Every one knows that members of the derg,that are known to have link to the atrocity of the red terror are behind bars. It is clear to many of us until this moment,no one has said about this officials concerning their relationship with that regim:it is only after their election ,that you come up with a description of their former asumed posts.I see no any weight of ofevidence in the assesment you gave concerning the character of this men:perhaps the the inclination of natural proclivity has to play major role ,here, than sound judgment. For instance, I know for a fact a man who left his home over three decads ago,and there is a 99% chance that this fellow never went back to his home.Yet,you would have us believe that he had a had a link with the derg. The one point I agree with you is this:the assesment you gave about the red terror era.I agree with what you have said there;although,I differ with the figure you gave:I believe the international media puts the number about 70,000.Neverthless,it is one of the darkest moments in our history,and we should treat it as such.Another point worth mentioning in this connection is this:the killings of the derg was not motivated by ethinic hatred;nor has it been targeting any particular ethinic group:this is important to keep in mind.The red terror has been directed at political opponents mainly,E.P.R.P members.As you have stated the terror took place in many parts of Ethiopia.I dont belive Mekele was a target of the red terror.That is not to say that members of the tigray community have not been affected.Perhaps two individuals worth mentioning who become victimes of that terror are Tesfaye Debesay and Brehanemeskele Reda:both prominent members of E.P.R.P. By contrast,T.P.L.F has been the architect of ethinic based politics in our land:it willfully,created,nurtured,and spread its ethnocentrist world view not only inside Ethiopia but as far as Somalia,showing a desire and entusiasm to ligitimize the spread of minority rule in the region.Most Ethiopians believe that power in that country rests in the hands of T.P.L.F and its tiny polit beuro.Ethiopians believe E.P.R.D.F is just a facade put forward by T.P.L.F to facilitate its rule across the nation.This is evidenced by the fact that ,time and again, E.P.R.D.F parliament almost always went along with the agenda of the P/m and his party.Whether we like it or not the all Tigray based party rules that nation.Not only that ,the nations army,airforce,security,and police force are commanded by this party. In the light of this stagering evidence,of one ethinc rule;I find it ironic to believe your criticizim against ,what you called the gathering of previous dergists.If you want to be critical of the make up of C.U.D party composition,you can do it only from high moral strength:that is the standard of the party you belong must excced from the one you attepted to criticize.I don't believe you are in that position to criticize C.U.D members for not being diverse.The fact is C.U.D has members from all major ethinic groups;not to mention the fact that C.U.D is not a ruling party yet.As we progress ahead we will expect it to be more oppen to all Ethiopians.HERE IS THE LIST OF T.P.L.F ,POLIT BEURO,and C.C MEMBERS as WELL AS THE THE COMMANDERS • The Unseen, Brutal Power of TPLF (Coalition Committee).

Introduction.

To govern a country and keep order to ensure peace and stability for the people of the given country or state, there must be different legal systems which are transparent and accountable for the benefit of the people. All these institutions must be legalized and made known to the people according to the constitution of the country. The duties and responsibilities of these institutions should be published and made accessible to the people through different channels including the media - whether state-owned or private - such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines as much as and as soon as possible so that the governed people can know the task of each government body.To make clear the institutions which are important for the government to ensure the security of the people i.e. internal stability and national sovereignty, the following bodies and state agencies must be established and continually strengthened:-

In this century everyone knows that any government (whether democratic or undemocratic) has these forces and their duties and responsibilities must be clearly stated in the constitution.

The main tasks of each are:-• National Defence Force - to defend the national sovereignty from external invasion or aggression.• Professional Police Force - to prevent crime and unlawful actions.• National Security (Intelligence) Force - to secure internal and external national security i.e. to prevent spying or government attacks, internally or externally.

All the above forces are essential to any government and nationally or internationally, a government is allowed to have such national forces to safeguard the nation against internal and external enemies.

But equally critical for their proper functioning, all these armed and paramilitary forces must be free from any kind of political party or pressure groups. In each force the officers, from the highest ranked to the lowest, must be loyal and remain accountable to the people. They must listen to the voice of the people. When the people suffer due to poor governance, these officers must be sensitive enough to feel and suffer with the people. When the people become happy, they in turn become happy too and enjoy with the people who pay their salaries. They must ensure that they are a part of the people and at the same time they are the servants of the people.

The cadres of citizens recruited into these uniformed services must be well trained and conscious enough to understand the national and global affairs at least in their own profession.They should not represent any particular ethnic group and must be free from any kind of animosity or harbour any deep hatred, race, colour, religion and political ambitions. This is the general feature of these forces under a free and democratic society.

When we observe the TPLF structure of these forces what will come through will be a different and deliberately conspired, unseen but brutal system which has been structured to intimidate anyone regarded to be unsympathetic to the TPLF course.

Members of the coalition committee.

This coalition committee is not known by the people and civil government ministries such as, Ministry of Education, Health, Agriculture, Finance and so on. The ministers of the ruling TPLF/EPRDF members neither participate in the meetings of these coalition committees nor know what has been discussed unless they are from the armed forces and the masterminds of the TPLF/EPRDF political affairs and its general activities.To get an idea of just how the TPLF has kept the Ethiopian populace under continued subjugation, it is important to understand the structure it has put in place in the name of governance.

The top brains who mastermind the activities of the secretive Coalition Committee comprise:-

• The Prime Minister - Tigre• The Minister of Defence (Chief of staff ) -Tigre• The Commander of Police - Tigre• The Head of National Intelligence - Tigre• The Commander of Special Police Force - Tigre• TPLF political wing - Tigre

Note: the common denominator in terms of ethnicity.

Member offices of this sub-committee whose personnel are charged with executing orders decreed by the Coalition Committee are:-

• EPRDF/TPLF political department• The so-called National Intelligence Office• The so-called National Defence Force• The so-called Police Force• Special Police Force i.e. independent of the regular police force and the most loyal one to the rulers compared with the regular police force.• The so-called Civil Administration

The leadership of TPLF is composed entirely of Tigriyans, mostly from the town and locality of Adwa. Current members of the Polit Bureau are:

TPLF has tried to create a collation with parties that have been created by itself during the armed struggle. This umbrella organization is known as the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) that was established in 1987. Members of the front are: the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara Nation Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), and the Southern Ethiopia People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM). The chairman of EPRDF is no other than Mr. Meles Zenawi himself.

TPLF policy towards political plurality in Ethiopia is characterized by deception, creating fictitious opposition parties on opposition parties that pose real challenge for TPLF, and divisive approaches in handling conflicts with political opponents of any kind.

You stated about your arest under derg for opposing the removal of the king,you also mentiond about the ordil of proffesor Asrat ,and the courage he displayed in those tring moment.Yet,I find it hard to believe your assertion that the current members are hand picked by Hailu Shiwal,I dont believe you can verify your stetment with any evidence.If not why are you endangering the life of Enginer Hailu with out any evidence?You have attempted to link every officals in that in that party with derg;and your claim that Hailu hand picked them is revealing that may be you are T.P.L.F's security chief washington beuro.Unlike Melese's party C.U.D is not dectated by one man Hailu.We have witnessed this when Melese sacked the armed chief of staf,imprisond Sega and his families,expelled members of the splinter group. Finally,how do you want to be perceived by Ethiopians? Weeks ago you criticized the government for its claim in deciding Eritria to be independent,inspite of Shabi's willingness to negotiate with Mengistu.Now,you are belittling the members of C.U.D:I think you are in the fence;this is not a position any one wants to be.As you have criticized the Mengistu regime for its human right violation;if consistency mean any thing,you must critcize the violations of this regime.We realise today's Ethiopia is very different than the Ethiopia of two decades ago:many honest citizens believe that Ethiopia can only be salvaged through demcratic rule.Unfortunately,some people like to interpret current Ethiopia through the dark glass of the past:such preconceived view leads to conspiracy and unfounded suspicion.Beside,no other party in our history ,including T.P.L.F,has been under such scrutiny ,when it put in place its founding members.I don't believe any individual or party has a monopoly or a say on the course of action another party should take.There should not be a double standard here.We have decided to move this direction.I dont think there will be any power to stop the object of this popular party.

Guys,Hagos seems achieving his goal by diverting our focus from the main agenda, which is the release of political prisoners and liberation our country. It is not appropriate to write long articles in comment boxes. Hagos & co are deliberately filling the popular commentary box with their rubbish to spoil the popular blog. Do not entertain such stupidity, tell them in short enough is enough.

It was either to delete Ato Tecola's posted piece OR find as many responses as possible. His commentary would have influenced the information deprived, the undecided and confused, and may be even find new audience at "this critical time." critical meaning,-The roller coster with the up and down of the news around the release of the prisoners of conscience.-The challenge faced by their representatives over seas and their appointments.-The kinds of supporters who would continue to stay with the party or the new ones who will be joining.-The impression of the KIC and what it means,-The kind of respect Ato Hagos recalled Dr Asrat had for the court and the history of what is labeled "kangaroo court" these last ninteen months vs.Hailu Shawel and group.The author has tauched on many different issues, and personally this is the first article I have read by him, although I have been familiar with the name(and there is some web site similar to the author's name, though I do not know if it is the same person). I believe this one used to be Melese's attorney until he parted?. It might have been posted some where else too, but I doubt if it would have received competant, matured and informative resposes as it has here. Some writers have defended CUD so well and rationaly, if there is a fading motivation for CUD because of the Diaspora's leadership, a lifting account and testaments have been posted.

If it is a case of attention being diverted, then hopefully some message will show up to favour your comment.MGP

well well well I believe neither Ephreim nor EZ can find the rotten heart of woyane. The woyane ranks and files are repeatedly trying to explain themselves that change of mind is not in their blood. They are born arrogant and will die arrogant. They are ready to place themselves in history book along with facist regimes like Mengistu. Edi Amin, Mussolini and others. They seems to have chosen to continue their dictatorship until death. Now the decision lies in the hands of ethiopians. Are we ready to kick them out before they finish us or allow them to put an end to our nation.Tenesa

well well wellI believe neither Ephreim nor EZ can find the rotten heart of woyane. The woyane ranks and files are repeatedly trying to explain themselves that change of mind is not in their blood. They are born arrogant and will die arrogant. They are ready to place themselves in history book along with facist regimes like Mengistu. Edi Amin, Mussolini and others. They seems to have chosen to continue their dictatorship until death. Now the decision lies in the hands of ethiopians. Are we ready to kick them out before they finish us or allow them to put an end to our nation.Tenesa

Tensae your question is an excellent one that deserve to be answered. In my opinion, Ethiopians have opted out for the latter. We have shown TPLF we are bunch of pussies. We are going to be dominated by TPLF for another three or four decades. We are nothing more than a pimple on baby butt, we bother and whin but we do nothing. I feel for those who died in the name of Democracy and Freedom. We betrayed them, they had the guts to confront Woyane with nothing but rocks while Woyane is fully equiped with machine guns and humvis. We in Diaspora do nothing but pretend we support change, the truth is we are pussies. Many of us are going to celebrate Millennium with TPLF for the hell of it. All Tegereas are going to go home to celebrate because they have reason to do so. But we have no reason to go back and celebrate with people that killed our youth and imprisoned our leaders.

True Amhara is FERI! Those crying Amharas hidden behind their laptops and bottles can only talk. The system EPRDF built after 17 years struggle can not be dismanttled by few Neftengas and their allies. Our constitution is the most democratic in the world which has given power to all nations and nationaliteis that had suffered under 'Amhara' regimes. Our PM is an amazing human with full energy to face his critics. he is one of the popular leaders in the continent dedicated to eliminate terrorists and neftengas. The world knows that he is not bothered about any one. If the west continues to put conditions on their shameful demands to release the criminals, China is ready to replace them. So what is the hard time in our mellenium. Some dream to let the criminals go free after trying to dimantle our constitution. Forget it.Goitom

Hi EZ, I don't know what is happening these days, are you ok? it has been long since you have said anything. Just now, I heard that the court has recessed until next week, it it true? what happened? please keep us posted since you are the only relayble sorce these days.

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